Avenging Avatar: Book 1- Water
by TheWriterForGod42
Summary: Join Aang, Katara and Sokka with the help of some of the Avengers as they journey to the Northern Water Tribe, where Aang must master the element of Water.
1. Chapter One: The Boy in the Iceberg

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either ATLA or MCU's Avengers, only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Earth, Fire, Air

(One by one, six figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread,, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days; a time peace, when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(A map of the Four Nations is shone before flying through the mountains of the Earth Kingdom, before coming to where docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, mastered of all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless Firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father, and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.

(Across the lands of the other three nations, the Fire Nation has laid destruction across everything in the war in flames. Four Water Tribe boats made their way from the village to go help in the fighting, leaving a young man and his sister to look after the tribe.)

 **Katara:** Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope.

(Up close, the siblings looked worried as they watch their fellow tribesman. But behind her saddened eyes, the younger Water Tribe girl still had hope that things would get better.)

 **Katara:** I still believe that somehow the Avatar, or maybe he and a new hope will come to save the world.

(An empty mountain's peak is seen for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter One: The Boy In the Iceberg and the Man from the Sky**

(Near the end of the fight between the Avengers and the Hydra recruits)

Somewhere in one of the cold Poles, the air and water seemed pretty calm. On a glacial shore, two sets of footprints went over hills of snow to some destination. Amongst the icebergs and massive glaciers, in the cold waters a small canoe sat floating in the water.

In the boat, two people; a brother and sister, looked over the side of the small boat as they fished. The wind softly whistled as the sibling's canoe drifted on the cold water. The brother had a look of determination on his face as he raised his spear at the water.

"It's not getting away from me this time." He said with confidence. Turning to his sister he smirked and said, "Watch and learn, Katara." He looked back to the water and raised his spear higher and said with the smirk still on his face, "This is how you catch a fish."

Katara, the younger sister, had an eyebrow raised to her brother's cockiness. With a slight turn of her head, she saw a fish right in front of her in the water. As the fish swam Katara took off her left glove to try something. She looked nervous for a moment, but then taking a deep breath, she held out her hand towards the fish, towards the water. Moving her hand in a waving like motion, she causes the water to bend around the fish as she pulls it out from the ocean in a bubble. Her face lights up as she said, "Sokka, look!"

"Shh, Katara. You're gonna scare it away." Sokka said as he wasn't paying attention to her as she bent the captured fish towards the boat. He continued to look down in the water from his side of the boat as a smile at the thought of eating the fish. He licks his lips before saying, "Mm… I can already smell it cooking."

Katara tried to show him as the floating fish was know right above her head, "But, Sokka, I caught one."

As she bent the water with the fish towards the middle of the boat to put the fish in it, it was over his head as Sokka raised his spear, and the end of it punctured the bubble. The bubble bursts with the fish jumping back into the water and Katara yelling, "Hey!"

Sokka gasped as the cold water fell on his head. Turning half of him around, he angrily questions, "Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?"

With a sigh, Katara then explains to him, "It's not magic. It's waterbending, and it's-"

"Yeah, yeah. An ancient art, unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah." Sokka interrupted as he wasn't entirely interested. Katara had her arms crossed as he turned around to face the front he then somewhat mocked her as he said while getting the water off, "Look, I'm just saying that if I had your powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

"You're calling me weird?" Katara questioned. She then points out with a half-smile, "I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water."

Her case was proven in point as Sokka was doing just that. He turned himself back around to look at her with an annoyed expression. But with a thud and a jerk, the two siblings gasp when Sokka looks ahead of them. He sees that they're in some trouble as the current picked up and the ice flows started to drift together. Sokka used the paddle to steer the canoe away, but it got harder as the converging ice made the path narrower by the second.

They made it to a clear path of water. Sokka grunted as he paddled for their lives, but the ice flows started to converge again. The canoe hit another ice flow. Katara shouted, "Watch out!"

As they try to make it out, Katara yells, "Go left! Go left!"

The canoe came to a spot where it was boxed in by the ice flows. As the ice started to crush the canoe, the two Water Tribe siblings jumped out with a gasp. They slide on the ice flows as the canoe was completely crushed. Katara grunts as she slid to a stop at the edge of the iceberg. Both siblings were now stranded on sea of small icebergs and the literal ocean.

Sitting up, Katara commented, "You call that left?"

"You don't like my steering?" Sokka shot back. Then mimicking the movements of the art he said, "Well, maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice."

This makes Katara angry as she questioned and stood up, "So it's my fault?"

"I knew I should have left you home." Sokka rudely said with irritation voice. He looks down and makes a very negative comment, "Leave it to a girl to screw things up."

This one comment causes Katara to become angrier as her face twitched from the comment. Letting her emotions come to the surface, she pointed an accusing finger as she shouted, "You, are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained…"

She puts her hands up to her head from the aggravation and when she threw them backwards she unknowingly caused waves as she shouted, "I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" She gave a big swing of her arms, and her waterbending caused an iceberg to crack. The ice groaned from the sudden force.

Sokka happened to look up at that moment and noticed how Katara's bending reacted with her anger. It made him nervous as she kept yelling, "Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier!" She sent another wave back, causing the iceberg to crack even more.

"Uh… Katara." Sokka tried to warn as he pulled on his mouth with his left hand and tried to point with his right. But she wasn't in the mood as she points out, "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks?! Let me tell you, not pleasant!" This time she held both of her arms up before throwing them down in anger. It causes the ice to crack even more.

The actions of her fury cause Sokka to become even more scared as he tried to make her stop, "Katara, settle down!"

Thinking that it was another attempt for him to control her like most of the time, her anger flared up again as she yelled, "No! That's it! I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your own!"

She threw back another wave at the glacier, this time creating even bigger cracks in the ice. Sokka whimpers to what's behind Katara as she looks back with a gasp. The giant pillar of ice breaks apart and crashes into the see, rocking the sibling's iceberg. Both of the scream as their small piece of ice is sent pushed back. Both of them laid on their stomachs and had their closed their eyes to the stinging wind as Sokka held on to his sister. Their berg went back a few feet until it came to a stop.

Sokka's expression turned from frightened to weirdly annoyed as he said, "Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish Katara."

"You mean _I_ did that?" She asked. Putting fake pride into his voice he said, "Yep. Congratulations."

A split second later, the water in front of them started to glow a bright bluish color that stuck out from the darker blue of the ocean. This made the siblings wonder what it was as the glowing light started to get bigger. Sokka and Katara get up to their feet and stepped back right as something started to emerging from the water. A moment later, a new iceberg erupted out of the water. As the domed iceberg bobbed on the surface, both Water Tribe siblings could see something inside of the glowing ice. Katara took a step forward to see what was inside, making Sokka nearly stop her, but she didn't get too close. She viewed at whatever was inside, and saw a large creature and what appeared to be a human inside of the berg. Katara gave an odd glance as she looked at it. Then suddenly, the being opened his eyes.

Both Water Tribesman gasp at this, and seeing that he was alive, while Sokka got into a fighters stance, Katara exclaimed, "He's alive!" Then reached behind her brother's back and grabbed his club. Pulling her hood up as he felt for what was missing, she said, "We have to help." before running forward.

"Katara, get back here!" Sokka said, fearing that whatever it was could be dangerous. He ran after her pointing out, "We don't know what that thing is!"

He grabbed his spear as she jumped from one patch of ice to the next. When she reached it, she got closer to the side and raised the club. With a forced grunt, she started to the packed ice. Smacking the ice four times, she put most of her strength into the fifth swing. It did the trick as steam shot out of it with a hiss. The blast of steam caused both of them to gasp. Sokka held Katara close as the steam settled and watched as the domed ice start to crack. The crack ran up the side, groaning as the cracks grew by the second. When the crack reached the top of the berg, the ice shattered as a great pillar of light shot up high into the sky.

The power of the light affected everything, from making giant ripples in the water to waking a pack of arctic seal leopards, making them rise with a groaning roar.

However, Sokka and Katara were not the only ones to witness the pillar of light. On a metal ship, sailing through the cold waters not too far from the pillar, a young man with a scar from a burn over his left eye and ear, saw the pillar of light.

"Finally." The teenager said with a look of renewed determination. Turning on his heel, he faced an older man and said, "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?" The man said as he played some kind of tile game while drinking a cup of hot tea. Turning back to the front of the ship, the teenager said, "It means my search it's about to come to an end."

His uncle sighed before putting a tile down on another one. His nephew said while pointing to the pillar of light as it faded, "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him."

"Oh, it's just the celestial lights." His uncle put it off as he raised a tile into the air. Then he said as if it were just nothing, "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko." He kept talking as he started to place a tile with three swirling circles on a tile that looked like the image of fire, "I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." Trying to calm his nephew he gestured for him to join, "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"

Prince Zuko tensed up before sharply turning and snapping, "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar." Looking up to the helmsman, Zuko ordered and pointed, "Helmsman, head a course for the light!"

His uncle only looked to another of tile with the swirling circles and placed it on the previous tile with the swirling circles. The wind started to whoosh over the table, making the tiles move a little.

Back at the pillar of light's former sight, both Sokka and Katara still shielded themselves from the blast of air and light. When they opened their eyes, they first looked to each other before looking to the source of the light. Sokka held up his spear as they waited to see if something would emerge.

From a top the ridge of the ice, the human being climbed and stood on the top. Because of the light, the being appeared as if to be mostly blue. Feeling unsafe about the being, Sokka took a more threatening pose with the spear and said, "Stop!"

The blue light faded, revealing that the being was only a boy wearing a yellow top shirt and pants, a red colored belt, brown boots and a red half-over cloak, not to mention glowing blue tattoos on his forehead and hands. As his tattoos stopped glowing, the boy faints. This causes Katara to gasp as she catches him as he fell. They both groan as they hit the ground.

Sokka, being the cautious yet inconsiderate one, started to use the bony end of his spear and nudged the boy's head. Each time he nudged, the nudges made boinging sound. After a few more nudges, Katara became annoyed by it and said while slapping it away, "Stop it!"

Knowing that he would back off, she set the boy down against the ice. The boy moaned as he started to wake up. When he did open his eyes, he saw that he was staring into the face of a beautiful girl and gave a small gasp. Katara offered him a smile as the wind blew against her hair loopies.

"I need to ask you something." The boy said weakly. Katara grew curious and asked, "What?"

"Please, come closer." The boy said. She did as he asked, and asked what he wanted, "What is it?"

The boy drowsily blinks his grey eyes. Then, he put on a big grin and looked more energetic as he comically asks, "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

"Uh, sure, I-I guess." Katara said as she sat up, now feeling a little weirded out and confused. The boy then did something as he made himself quickly stand up right. The action causes Sokka to gasp as he jumped back in fright, making Katara look at him with a raised eyebrow. The boy looks around and then asks, "What's going on here?"

"You tell us." Sokka demanded. He didn't understand any of what just happened as he bombarded the boy, now rubbing his head, with questions, "How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" On the last question, the Water Tribesman used the sharp end and lightly poked the boy in the stomach with it.

"I'm not sure." The kid said as he pushed the spear away. A loud snoring sound comes from the other side of the wall of ice, making the tattooed boy gasp. The kid started quickly climb up the ice, grunting with every step. When he reached the top, a big grin on his face again as he started to slide down the ice. When he reached the bottom, he jumped up into the air and said, "Appa! Are you all right?"

He landed on the head of the sleeping something. His giant furry friend still slept as the boy tried to rouse him, "Wake up, buddy." He used his hand to open the creature's eye lid. But it didn't work as the eye lid went back down. Jumping down to the face of the creature, he put his hands on the creature's lips and tried to raise the head. But all it really did was pull on the lip with a few grunts.

Sokka and Katara came around to an opening to see what was going on. Their eyes grow wide as Sokka lets out a gasp and his ears grow comically bigger as the boy keeps trying. His giant furry friend finally wakes up, and licks the boy's back. This causes the boy to laugh and said, "You're okay!"

The boy lands on his feet and turns to hug the creature's snout. The furry creature grunts and growls as it rose to its feet. The creature was massive, it had two horns on its head, three legs on each side which meant six in total, a long flat tail, and it was mostly covered with white fur and had a long patch of grey fur that looked like a giant arrow that ran from his tail to his head.

"What is that thing?" Sokka questioned as he and his sister came closer. The boy looked back and said, "This is Appa, my flying bison."

"Right." Sokka sarcastically said. He then points to his sister and said, "And this is Katara, my flying sister."

Both she and the boy gave him a raised eyebrow. With the sound of a low growl coming from Appa, the boy turns to see the bison's nose starting to twitch. Appa took a deep breath and let out a huge sneeze. The boy yells and ducks as Appa lets loose a huge stream of snot. Unfortunately, all the snot landed on a now disgusted Sokka. He screamed as he used the snow to get the snot off of him. He gasped as a smiling Katara watches him trying to get it off. Sokka then wiped his face in the snow to rub it off. The boy gave a smile as he reassured him, "Don't worry, it'll wash out."

Sokka didn't feel any better as he wiped the rest of it off of his face with a groan. Katara looked like she was really grossed out. The boy decided to ask, "So, do you guys live around here?"

Sokka's attitude changed from grossed out to cautious again as he pointed the spear at the boy and said, "Don't answer that." He pointed to the sky as he said, "Did you see that crazy bolt of light?" He stood up on his feet, with spear still pointing at the kid, and accused, "He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy."

"Oh, yeah," Katara skeptically said. She pushed her brother out of the way, "I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy." She looks to the boy and sarcastically said while Sokka looked a little skeptical at her, "You can tell by that _evil_ look in his eye."

The boy didn't show any emotion on his feet for a moment, but then he put on a crazy smile on his face. Katara then explained to the boy, "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka." Sokka then held up a hand as if to say hi, and then she said, "You never told us your name."

"I'm… ah…" The boy tried to say, but something stopped him. He couldn't say anything but, "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…"

Then like Appa, the boy let out a huge booming sneeze and then shot up high into the air. Katara and Sokka took a step back from the blast. Both Water Tribe siblings look up to the sky in wonder and amazement. The boy quickly came back down and slid down the ice, and stopped by pushing his heels into the ice. When he stopped before them he introduced himself, "I'm Aang." Then using his finger he wiped his nose with a sniffle.

"You just sneezed," Sokka said and then pointed up into the air as he said, "and flew ten feet in the air."

"Really?" Aang said as he looked up to the sky, "It felt higher than that."

Katara gasped in realization and said, "You're an Airbender."

"Sure am." Aang confirmed. But before anything else could be said, Sokka thought he started hearing something. Looking around he said, "Do you guys hear something?"

Both Aang and Katara looked around as well. It wasn't long before they all looked up to the sky and saw something falling. Sokka looked over to the Airbender and asked, "You didn't happen to throw something when you went up, did you?'

Aang only shook his head as the thing in the sky drew closer. Taking a closer look he said, "It kind of looks like a person with a shield of some kind."

As the man drew closer, Katara noticed that the person was falling right towards them. Grabbing both boys' arms, she pulled and said, "Watch out! Move!"

All three kids and Appa then jumped backwards as the man impacted the ice where they once stood. The impact created a giant mushroom cloud and sent a lot of ice flying, thus making Aang, Katara and Sokka cover their faces. Luckily, the ice shards didn't hit the kids nor Appa. Lowering their arms, the three looked towards the crater as the air cleared of the dust.

Aang, being the brave one at the moment, tiptoed towards the crater. As he got closer to the crater, he could see the thing more clearly. The person in the crater was a man dressed in a blue covered uniform, had a blue helmet and the round grey shield was on his left arm. The uniform itself was decorated with red and white at the man's midsection, a white star on his chest, not to mention the attachments to his belt. Aang crept down into the crater and got closer to the man. Just as he was about to see if the man in blue was still alive, a familiar spear with its butt bone appeared and started to nudge the man in the head. Both Aang and Katara looked to Sokka with a raised as he kept going. Aang quickly slapped the spear away and said, "Stop it!"

Aang gave the Water Tribe teen an annoyed glance just as the man started to stir with a groan. Looking down, all three kids watched as the man's eyes twitched open. When he did open them, the first thing he saw was three pairs of eyes staring down at him. It made him jump a little, and him jumping made them jump a little. Looking around, the man first noticed that he was surrounded by ice which it started to groan as more cracks started to appear.

"Move it!" The man said. All four of them ran and climbed out of the crater as the bottom of it gave way. Water could be seen as the cracks let it in. When all four were in the clear, the man looked to the children with a raised eyebrow as they took a deep breath. No one said anything for a moment. Sokka then broke the silence and asked, "Now who are you?"

The man shook his head, trying to process everything that just happened asked, "Wait, wha-?"

"Now. Who. Are. You?" Sokka asked again more slowly. The man then hesitantly held out the shield-less hand and said, "Name's Steve, Captain Steve Rogers."

"Nice to meet you Steve." Aang said as he took the older man's hand and shook. Then with his free hand, he introduced the Water Tribe siblings, "And these two are Sokka and his sister Katara."

Steve nodded to the two before starting to look around again. He saw the ocean and all the ice bergs. Looking back to the kids he then noticed that Sokka was walking around him. Taking a chance the young Water Tribesman asked, "So if I can ask, Steve, where did you come from, and what exactly is with your 'uniform'? And you're a captain for who now, exactly? And you wouldn't happen to be another Airbender?"

"Well, this uniform is what I wear when I go to help people." Steve explained. This peaks Katara's curiosity as she asks, "What kind of help do you do?"

"The saving kind." Steve looks to her and tells her. This makes the three kids gasp in amazement. Steve then said, "As for where I'm from, it's a little hard to explain." Then he said, "And I was made a captain because it was part of a gimmick until I became an actual a soldier back during the second World War."

"Second World War?" Sokka questioned. Steve then decided to explain, "As I said earlier, where I'm from is a little hard to explain." He was about to keep going when he heard a growl from behind, and looking back he saw Appa standing right behind him with the bison standing incredibly close. Steve looked back to the kids, as Aang quickly remembered and said, "Oh, I forgot, that's Appa, my flying bison."

Looking back to the bison, Steve said, "Uh, hi."

Appa's response was a big lick against Steve. Steve moved away and wiped himself off, then he looked to the kids again. He then further explained himself, "Let me just say, where I came from is a place called Earth. And when I said the second World War, that's the time when I got my powers."

"Powers?" Katara asked with a skeptic eyebrow. Steve laughed, knowing that it did sound a little farfetched, as he said, "Let's just say that I'm not an ordinary soldier. Back during the war, my government wanted a way to help win the war, so they decided to create a super soldier program."

He was about to keep going when Sokka decided to cut him off and said, "Giant light beams, flying bison, Airbenders, super soldiers…

"I think I've got midnight sun madness." The teen said as he started to walk off. Steve looked to the other two kids and asked, "What's an airbender?"

They didn't get a chance to explain as Sokka said, "I'm going home to where stuff makes sense."

The Water Tribe teen then saw that getting back home would be a little difficult, seeing as they were all stuck on the iceberg.

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give a lift." Aang offered. He looked to Steve and said, "You can come along if you want."

"Thank you." Steve humbly said. He decided to go with them since he didn't know how this world worked. Aang then took a stance and then with his arms bent in different directions, he air bent himself in a jump to the top of Appa's head with his test. Then he did two hops to where the reigns were. Katara happily said, "We'd love a ride, thanks."

As Steve and her move to board Appa, Sokka was the killjoy again as he turned and said, "Oh, no. I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster."

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home?" Katara asked as Aang helped her into the saddle. Then she points out, "You know, before you freeze to death?"

Steve looked over to the boy as he tried to retort back, "Uh…" but as Sokka raised his finger, he just stopped trying to fight it and sighed.

Sokka, Katara and Steve were now on board the flying bison at the back of the saddle. One was very excited, one wanted to see what would happen, and the last had a deadpanned expression as he waited. Looking back, Aang said, "Okay, first-time flyers, hold on tight." Facing forward, the Airbender looked down the bison and excitedly shouted, "Appa, yip-yip!"

He snapped the reigns and Appa gave a low growl. The bison walked over the crater and to the waters edge. Near the edge of the ice, Appa raises his tail and then with a mighty jump, he splayed out all six legs, he stuck in the air for a moment and then crashed into the water. The impact shot up huge waves. As he floated in the water, Appa started to swim. Not wanting to disappoint his new friends, Aang tries to make Appa fly, "Come on, Appa. Yip-yip."

As Katara crawled on the saddle, Sokka sarcastically complemented, "Wow, that was truly amazing."

Even though Katara and Steve shot him a glare, Aang defended the bison by saying, "Appa's just tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see."

As she moved to pet Appa, she noticed that Aang looked at her with a big smile on his face. She then questions, "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Oh," Aang tried to make it sound accidental by saying, "I was smiling?"

Both Steve and Katara heard Sokka groaning from behind, "Ugh."

Katara shot her brother another look as Appa kept swimming through the cold waters.

Prince Zuko's ship kept on sailing through the freezing waters as the sun started to set. At the top of the ship, Prince Zuko stood at the railing, thinking about capturing the Avatar. His uncle soon joined him and informed his nephew, "I'm going to bed now."

He goes through the motions of the yawn with his left arm stretched out. He feels content as he said, "Yep, man needs his rest." Noticing that his nephew hadn't moved or reacted to his words made the man say, "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep."

Seeing that the prince still hadn't moved, his uncle pointed out, "Even if you're right, and the Avatar _is_ alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed."

"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture." Prince Zuko said. He slightly looks back as he said, "Mine does." Looking back over the water he claimed, "This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

The group of five still lazily floated through the water towards Sokka and Katara's home. As Aang laid with his head against Appa's and his staff, Sokka laid on his side at the back of the saddle sleeping, Cap and Katara sat more in the middle of the saddle. As Steve sat looking at his shield, Katara moved towards the head of the bison. Looking down at Aang she said, "Hey."

"Hey." The Airbender said nonchalantly. He then asked, "Whatcha thinking about?"

"I guess I was wondering," She said with questions in her mind, "your being an Airbender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar."

This surprised him as he was quick to say, "Uh, no." He sat up and said, "I didn't know him. I mean, I knew people that knew him. But I didn't. Sorry." He offered a smile."

"Okay, just curious." Katara said, deciding that that was enough for now. She then said, "Good night."

"Sleep tight." Aang said back to her. When she wasn't looking, he turned around and had a nervous look on his face. Unbeknownst to him, Steve happened to be looking while leaning against the saddle but didn't say anything as they continued to float.

It was later that evening as everything had turned a grayish color and thunder boomed overhead Aang. The noise and the flash of light caused Aang to wake up. Somehow, he had been moved up to the saddle as he sat up. Looking around he sees that he and Appa were surrounded by thunder clouds. Moving to Appa's head, he took the reigns and tried to get out of the storm. He screamed as he and his beloved bison were sent crashing into the sea. After disappearing under the waves, Aang and Appa reemerged from the water with Appa roaring in fright. A huge wave sent the two back down underwater. Both boy and bison kept sinking deeper and deeper in the water.

His grip slipping off of the reign he floated ahead of Appa. As his air started to run out as they sank deeper, his face turned from looking unconscious to a serious one as his eyes and tattoos started to glow. Then smacking his fists together, he created a giant sphere of air that surrounded him and Appa. The light from him doing that could be seen from the surface of the ocean. The water surrounding the air sphere started to turn to ice, encasing Aang and Appa inside.

Katara and Steve's voices were then heard, "Aang! Aang, wake up! Come on kid!"

Aang gasps as he sat up, abruptly waking from his dream. Katara looked a little worried for him as she said, "It's okay."

He looks to her as she happily said, "We're in the village now." Standing up with Steve, with his helmet removed, standing right behind her she pointed with her thumb and said, "Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." Before she followed Cap out of the tent, they took a good look at the tattoos on Aang's arms, hands, legs and feet. She let's out a gasp about something as Aang puts on his shirt. Reaching towards him, she grabbed his wrist making him yell.

In a little Water Tribe village, most of the villagers were waiting as Sokka sat in the lotus position outside of Aang's tent. As Sokka sharpened his boomerang, he looked up as Katara dragged Aang with Captain Rogers following close behind. Katara pulled Aang before the gathered crowd of the villagers and introduced both him and Steve, "Aang, Steve, this is the entire village." As the villagers looked back at them, she said, "Entire village, Aang and Captain Rogers."

Putting both hands on his staff, he then does the polite thing and bows to them. Cap did the same with his hands against his sides. The villagers were a little cautious of the two as some of the women pulled their children back. This makes both boys a little self-conscious as Aang asked, "Uh, wh-why are they all looking at us like that?" He looked over him and Steve and then asked, "Did Appa sneeze on us?"

An elderly woman stepped forward and explained, "Well, I can't say much for this one…" She pointed to Steve before turning back to Aang, "But for you, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years." She was very blunt when she said, "We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

"Extinct?" Aang asked in disbelief. Katara made a personal introduction, "Aang, Steve, this is my grandmother."

"Call me Gran-Gran." She said with deadpanned expression.

Sokka walked up and took Aang's staff and said, "What is this, a weapon?" Looking over to Steve's shield he said, "I already can tell what yours is, but his…" Holding it horizontally to expect it he said, "You can't stab anything with this."

Chuckling, Aang used airbending to take it back. As it came back to his hand, Steve thought, _that's almost like Thor with Mjolnir._

Aang still chuckled as he then said, "It's not for stabbing. It's for airbending." Then touching it in a certain way, he caused the staff to turn into a glider. One of the wings hit Sokka in the chin, making him gasp. One of the children chuckles as another said, "Magic trick! Do it again!"

"Not magic, airbending." Aang explained. He then demonstrated a little as he moved the glider around, "It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

"You know, last time I checked…" Sokka said trying to be the know-it-all. He then made a comical face as he tried to make his point, "humans can't fly!"

Steve had a smirk on his face as he said, "I once thought that nothing would surprise me anymore." He moved towards Sokka and put a hand on the teen's shoulder and said, "But I believe that there are many more surprises to come."

"He's actually right." Aang said as he put his hands where they needed to be and squatted. With smirk the Airbender said, "So you might want to check again."

Then after tensing up, he jumped up high into the air. Steve, Katara and Sokka were pushed back a little as they looked up to watch Aang. Everyone else of the village gasped as they watched Aang in amazement. One of the little girls said, "Wow! Oh, he's flying!"

Aang made the glider move from side to side and turned when he wanted to. Another girl shouted with glee, "He's amazing!"

The young Airbender did a small dive before pulling up. He looked down with a small smile as he passed over everyone. Even Steve couldn't help but be impressed as he watched the kid fly around. He then thought to himself, _I wonder if he could give Thor a run for his money._

His smile grew bigger as he continued to bring fun to the village kids. His smile grew so big that he closed his eyes. Unfortunately, it caused him to crash into a snow built tower with a grunt. Steve winced from this as Katara held her hands up to her mouth while her grandmother had disapproving stare.

Aang grunted as he tried to pull himself out of the tower made of snow. It took a few tries when he finally did, he fell and rolled in the snow. Katara and Steve winced as Sokka screams, "Oh, my watchtower!"

All three of them ran to see if Aang, or the watchtower, was okay. A small ounce of a snow smacks against the now semi-buried Aang as Katara and Steve come to help him. A few children run up to them as Katara exclaims with a smile, "That was amazing!"

Both her and Steve take one of Aang's hands and pulled him out of the snow. Sokka ran past them and checked on the tower. As Aang spun the glider back into the staff, snow from the tower falls onto Sokka. He grunts as he lands on his back.

Popping his head out of the snow and said with annoyance, "You're an Airbender; Katara's a Waterbender; Steve's a super soldier." Picking himself out of the snow and sarcastically said, "Together, you can just waste time all day long."

As the teen Water Tribesman walked away, Aang and Steve look at Katara as the former excitedly exclaimed, "You're a Waterbender!"

"Well, sort of. Not yet." She humbly pointed out. The mention of 'waterbending' and 'airbending' made Steve curious again as he asked, "What exactly is water and airbending?"

Both benders looked to him as Katara then explained, "You see, Steve, our world is comprised of Four Nations. The Water Tribe," she pointed to herself as a representative. "the Air Nomads," Aang proudly points to himself as he then said, "the Earth Kingdom," Katara looks a little sullen as she said, "And the Fire Nation."

Both Aang and Steve notice how upset she was starting to look. When Steve tried to say something to ease her mind, but Gran-Gran come up from behind and said, "All right, no more playing." Beckoning her granddaughter she then said, "Come on, Katara, you have chores."

As the two walked away, Katara then excitedly tells her grandmother, "I told you, he's the real thing, Gran-Gran. I finally found a bender to teach me."

They stopped amongst the tents as Gran-Gran told her, "Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy."

"But he's special. I can tell." Katara argued. She felt excited as she said, "I sense he's filled with much wisdom."

See looks back to Aang, who now has his tongue stuck to his staff. The children giggled as he said oddly with his tongue stuck, "See? Now my tongue is stuck on my staff…" The little boy closest to him then pulled on the staff. This makes the other children giggle as Aang grunts from the slight pain. Then he puts on a boy-do-I-feel-kind-of-stupid-face from it. Steve slightly smiles at the antics.

On Prince Zuko's ship during the day, the prince stood before two Fire Nation soldiers in a triangle as his uncle watched from the side. His uncle instructed, "Again."

With a grunt, Prince Zuko threw a few fire fists as the soldiers who used their firebending. The flames whooshed by as both soldier threw a fire fist of their own. Prince Zuko dodged under one with a twist as he then jumped over the second fire flow. As he flew through the air, he extended his left fist and shot a blast of fire at the soldier on his left. The soldier jumped up as the fire hit the deck of the ship. As Zuko came down, he swept his leg and a stream of fire at the other soldier who was able to jump out of the way. All three of them take a stance with Zuko's arms stretched out.

With a groan, his uncle stands up and said, "No!" Prince Zuko looks to his uncle as the man said, "Power in firebending comes from the breath," He said as he took a breath while raising his hands to demonstrate, "not the muscles." He brings his right arm back as he stretches out his left, "The breath becomes energy in the body." He puts his hands to his stomach as he continues to explain, "The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." Then he takes another deep breath and throws a fire fist at the Prince, but makes sure that it doesn't go to far to hit the teenager. With strict discipline he said, "Get it right this time."

"Enough!" Prince Zuko snapped. He came closer as he felt tired of the sequence and said, "I've been drilling this sequence all day." Being impatient he ordered, "Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."

"No, you're impatient." His uncle told him. Then acting like a teacher he said as he sat back down, "You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!"

Growling in irritation, he then grunts as he kicks a fireball at one of the Fire Navy soldiers. The soldier tried to block it, but it was so sudden that it knocked him down with a grunt of his own. Turning back to his uncle, Zuko then said, "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender." His uncle only gives his nephew/pupil a stern look as Zuko said, "He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements- -" His uncle's expression didn't change as Zuko said, "I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him." The Prince then snapped as he ordered, "You will teach me the advanced set!"

Knowing that his nephew's impatience would make him go on like this, his uncle gave in and said, "Very well." His tone and face changed when he said, "But first," he leaned over and picked up a bowl of something, "I must finish my roast duck."

Prince Zuko could only look in slight uncomforting as his uncle happily made noises as he shoveled the pieces of duck with chop sticks, "Mm, mm."

Back at the village, Sokka spoke to a few people, "Now, men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender." Then pulling out his club he said, "In the Water Tribe, we fight till the last man's standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?"

As it turned out, the 'men' he was talking to was a group of six little boys. One of the boys didn't look all that interested as the others didn't know what to say. Finally one of the boys raised his hand and said, "I gotta pee!"

"Listen! Until your fathers return from the war," Sokka said as he tried to prepare them, "they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks!"

But the boy sounded really serious as he said, "But I really gotta go!"

Sokka sighs in defeat as he then asks, "Okay, who else has to go?"

All five of the other boys then raised their hands. Sokka looks down at them in disbelief and then groans when he facepalms. As the boys leave, Steve comes up to Sokka and said, "If it makes you feel any better, I actually thought that you sounded pretty convincing for a warrior."

"Thanks. That does actually made me feel a little better." Was all Sokka said. Katara came up to the both of them and asked, "Have either of you seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

Speaking of said Airbender, young Aang was just emerging from a bathroom like igloo. Laughing he said, "Wow! Everything freezes in there."

All the children start to laugh as they come up to him. Sokka groans as he looks to his sister and said, "Ugh! Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only."

Just as Sokka was about to walk away a child screamed, "Whee!" This makes the siblings and Steve look. They look to see that Aang had Appa's tail suspended over a sawhorse made from a few sticks and Sokka's spear. And the kids started to slide down the tail and shortly flew in the air as they then landed in a huge pile of snow. Steve smiled as Katara giggled from seeing it. Sokka, however; wasn't in the mood as he ran over and shouted, "Stop! Stop it right now!" Looking at Aang and he angrily said, "What's wrong with you?! We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on."

This makes both Steve and Aang curious as the latter asks, "What war?" Jumping down he asks, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm starting to wonder too." Steve said to himself as Sokka asked, "You're kidding, right?"

Before Aang could say anything else, he saw something in the distance that brought a huge grin to his face. Jerking his head back a little, making the three in front of him flinch, the Airbender then shouted, "Penguin!"

The other four looked behind them and saw that there was a penguin behind them. As Steve took a closer look, it didn't look like a penguin from his world. This one didn't have a beak, but it did have whiskers, four flippers and a huge tail. The penguin suddenly becomes scared of something and then with a few squeaks and squawks, the penguin turned and waddled away. Not wasting another second, Aang took off like a rocket after the penguin.

"He's kidding… right?" Sokka asked. Katara and Steve could only give him an unsure look.

Katara and Steve had Aang who had followed the penguin to a place where a whole flock of them. As they walked through the black and white bodies, Steve couldn't help but wonder in amazement about the things that he's seen here. But he put his effort into finding the young Airbender as Katara called out, "Aang?"

They didn't have to search for very long as they could hear him laughing. Aang kept laughing as he wasn't having any luck trying to catch a penguin, but couldn't seem to grab one as he said, "Hey come on, little guy." Turning to another one he asks, "Want to go sledding?" As he chases the waddling creature he trips and falls with a grunt.

Both Katara and Steve catch up to him as he used airbending to right himself. Chuckling he said, "I have a way with animals."

"That I can believe." Cap told him. Aang then does a funny thing and starts to waddle and make squawking noises. His friends laugh at the silliness. Katara then said, "Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending."

Aang had grabbed a penguin by the tail and was being dragged by it, and when he let it go, he turned to her and said, "You got a deal!"

"Uh, Aang. Don't you think that might be a little difficult with just one little problem." Steve tried to make him see reason which he did. Katara looked a little bummed as Aang said while using airbending to put himself on his knees, "He's right; I'm an Airbender, not a Waterbender." Standing up he asked, "Isn't there someone in your tribe who can you?"

Steve and Aang watch as her face becomes downcast as she turned away and said, "No. You're looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole."

"This isn't right. A Waterbender needs to master water." Aang said as he thought that it wasn't fair for Katara. Then he thought and said aloud, "What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right"

"Yeah. Maybe they have Waterbenders who could teach you." Steve put in. Katara wasn't as sure as she said, "Maybe. But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly "Turn right at the second glacier." It's on the other side of the world."

"But you forget, I have a flying bison." Aang reminds her, an idea forming in her head. He then says as he makes an offer, "Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!"

Katara wasn't sure as she said, "That's… I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before."

"Well, you think about it." Aang said, letting her come to the decision. His face perked up when he said, "But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?"

With a smile Katara started to reach into her pocket and said, "Okay, listen closely my young pupil." With a humorous bow, she said, "Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art." She then revealed that she had pulled a tiny fish from her pocket and said, "Observe." Katara then throws the fish to him.

This causes all of the penguins nearby to start squawking as they waddled over to get the fish. Aang catches the fish as the penguins waddle up to him. He giggles as the start to pile up on him. He laughed out loud as the penguins tried to get the fish.

Not too much later, both Aang and Katara were on the backs of penguins sledding down a slope. Both of them shout happily as they flew off of a cliff. When they landed, they look back to see Steve flying off the cliff using his shield since he didn't feel like riding a penguin. He quickly catches up with them as they continue down the slope. All three of them laugh at the fun. As they go through a strip with high walls, Aang moves to what looked to be a ramp and slides off of it, followed by Steve. As they fly over Katara's head, both she and Aang look to Steve as he did a spin on his shield. Aang laughs at the fun they were having as he lands in front of Katara.

All three make noises of excitement as they continue down the slopes. As they come together on their 'sleds' Katara yelled while laughing, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"

"You still are a kid!" Aang shouts back. They slide towards a mound of ice that had many tunnels in it. Katara took the lead in one of the tunnels as Aang and Steve followed her in. In the circular tunnel, they start to weave to where they could slide on the side. Using his airbending, he shot ahead of Katara and Steve.

Soon they came out of the tunnel as the penguins and shield slowed down. As they came to a stop, Aang and Katara got off the backs of the penguins as Steve got off the shield. As the penguins waddled away, Cap used his foot to make the shield flip up in the air. He caught it in his hand as it came down and placed it on his back.

Their attention was grabbed by something nearby. The three of them walk up to it and look up at the full height. Aang simply said, "Whoa!"

"What is that?" Steve asked as the thing they saw was a giant metal ship. Katara was didn't sound too happy as she said, "A Fire Navy ship… and a very bad memory for my people."

After a moment of looking at it, Aang started to walk towards it. Katara tried to stop him, "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it."

"Why? It doesn't look like it's been used in years." Steve argued. Katara gave a pretty good reason, "Because the ship could be booby-trapped."

Aang turned around and told her, "If you want to be a Bender, you have to let go of fear."

Katara was still hesitant, as was Steve, but taking a chance the two of them followed Aang inside. They quickly joined Aang before they went inside. As they continued to walk towards the spooky ship, they couldn't help but feel a little frightened at the enormous size. Climbing up the ice that kept the ship aground, they made their way through a hole in the ships hull. Very carefully the two made their way inside the ship. They passed by many doors as they walked through the dark, cold hallways of the ship.

Taking the time as they walked through one corridor after another, Steve decided to ask Katara, "I've been wondering about a few things, Katara."

"Hm?" She said as she looked back. Steve then asked, "Last night you said something about someone called the 'Avatar', what is that exactly."

"Well, to put it simple terms, the Avatar was the protector of our world. The Avatar would watch of the Four Nations and step in when things got out of hand." Katara explained. Steve nodded as he started to understand a little more. Both of them, however; didn't seem to notice that talking about the Avatar made Aang feel uncomfortable. The three of them passed by a few more rooms as they continued to explore. As they passed a ladder that went up to another level, something squeaked from above. Steve walked up beside them and said, "Probably just a rodent. So hopefully nothing to worry about." With that little bit of reassurance they kept moving.

The three friends made their way into a room with weapons. Aang walked right in the room with the other two behind him. As they looked around, Katara told them, "This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks."

Aang looked over the sharp weapons with uncertainty. And when she mentioned the 'war', he was still very confused, "Okay, back up." He moved through the room as he stated, "I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation." He picked up a spear as he said, "I've never seen any war."

This made both Katara and Steve confused as the former asked, "Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?"

"I don't know." Aang said as he started to put the spear away, "A few days, maybe?"

"I think it was more like a hundred years." She said with realization. Aang looked at her with a look as if what she said was ridiculous, "What? That's impossible. Do I look like a hundred and twelve-year-old man to you?"

"I wouldn't say that it's entirely impossible." Cap said was he came closer. Pointing to himself he said, "I mean look at me. I may look young, but I too was once frozen in ice for nearly seventy years."

This shocked both young Benders as Aang said, "Really?" He looked Steve and asked, "But how are you—"

"Still alive." Steve finished. He explained himself, "It was probably in the super soldier serum that made me into what I am now."

Pushing the shocking revelation behind them for now, Katara turned to Aang and said, "And think about it. The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow," Aang's face becomes one in shock as he realizes that she was right, "you were in there the whole time. It's the only explanation."

Now distraught, Aang puts a hand to his head as he backs up to the wall. Sliding into a sitting position, he said, "A hundred years!" Katara and Steve came and knelt by Aang's side as the boy said, "I can't believe it."

"I'm sorry, Aang." Katara said as she put a hand on his shoulder. Steve did the same as he said, "I know how you feel, to be honest." Aang and Katara looked up to him as he said, "After I had been thawed out, I woke up, and the people who had brought me out of it, they tried to make it seem as if I were still back in nineteen forty-two. But I was able to figure it out and I too became distraught about." He frowned as he thought of Peggy and all those who had died after the war, but then he smiled and said, "But I was able to move past it."

"He's right, maybe there's a bright side to all this." Katara added to cheer the Airbender up. Aang's frown turned into a smile and said, "I did get to meet you." He looks to Cap and then said, "Both of you."

Steve and Katara both smiled graciously at this. Standing up, Katara then helped Aang up and said, "Come on, let's get out of here."

With that said, all three friends walked out of the room.

Near the top of the ship, the three were still exploring. But Katara felt that they had been here long enough and said, "Aang, Steve, let's head back. This place is creepy."

Never the less, they still walked into the room. As he went in further, Aang felt something on his foot. Looking down he saw that something was moving as he lifted his foot. Steve then noticed it too and shouted, "Stop! It's a tripwire!"

But the warning came too late as Aang's foot had pulled on the string. Behind them, a trap door fell down on the opening, causing the three to gasp. They ran up to it as Aang asked, "What's that you said about booby traps?"

More sounds could be heard from inside the room, and they gasped when they saw a few inner workings pulled a few chains. When thing led to something that was made of flint and it sparked something. They gasp as a lot of steam came out of pipes. In what sounded like a miniature explosion, a signal flare whizzed up into the sky. The soldier and the benders look out the window, with Aang saying, "Uh—oh."

The signal flare went high into the sky, where it could be seen by all. Looking up to the ceiling, Aang saw a hole and ideas started to form in his head. Turning to Steve he said, "Put your shield under the hole and I can airbend you and Katara out." Steve was about to say something when Aang beat him to it, "Then I'll come up next."

Trusting the Airbender's word, Steve took his shield off of his back and placed it down under the hole and stood on the underside of it. Holding his hand out to Katara he said, "You might want to hold on tight."

Katara joined him on the shield, and then with a twist of his hands, he created a small yet powerful tornado that lifted them out of the ship, making Katara shriek a little. As Cap moved out the way in midair, Aang used his airbending to jump out of the ship after them. Aang joined the two as Cap placed the shield back on his back. Taking Katara from there, both Airbender and super soldier carefully jumped from spot to spot down the ship.

As he viewed the flare from the telescope, Prince Zuko makes it go down to see what caused it. He then saw three figures; a tall man dressed in blue, what appeared to be a Water Tribe girl, and his good eye grew large from what appeared to be a boy in Air Nomad attire as they jumped down.

"The last Airbender." He said with determination. He then commented, "Quite agile for his old age."

Turning to one of the Fire Nation soldiers behind him he ordered, "Wake my uncle! Tell him…" He looks back to where he saw the Airbender as he said, "I found the Avatar…" He looks through the telescope again and looks to see where he was going. Unfortunately, he saw something, "… as well as his hiding place."

Moving his eye away from the telescope, he narrowed them as he felt like his search would end soon.

 **To Be Continued…**

Author's Note: Man, that took so long to write. But it was totally worth it. I look forward to reading your reviews. I'll try to keep this story updated, but I remind you that I have other fanfiction stories to write that I wish to see done for myself. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	2. Chapter Two: The Avatar Returns

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Water Tribe children Katara and Sokka stare at a now bobbing and glowing iceberg. Inside the iceberg they see two beings: a large creature and a boy._

 _After freeing the two, Katara sets the boy against the ice. They boy wakes and stands up, shows them his flying bison Appa and said, "I'm Aang."_

 _A moment later something falls from the sky. After said something lands, they see that it was a man dressed in a blue uniform. When the man wakes up he introduces himself, "My name's Steve Rogers."_

 _On a Fire Navy ship somewhere in the South Pole Waters, a young man with a scar over his right eye is training with two soldiers under his uncle._

 _On a rundown Fire Navy ship, a flare was accidentally launched. Steve, Aang and Katara watch as Aang said, "Uh-oh."_

" _Wake my uncle!" Prince Zuko ordered. Turning to the telescope and with a look of new found determination he said, "I've found the Avatar."_

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Two: The Avatar Returns**

The portal room was busy as both Arnim Zola and Crossbones work to fix the damages from the fight. Behind the working two, the Red Skull stood behind them with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He patiently waited for the machine to be fixed, but his worries weren't really on the machine; it was on the fact that his nemesis Captain and his band of freaks had gone through before he could.

"Doctor Zola." Johann Schmidt said. His on-edge voice caught the robotic scientist off guard, and he turned his animatronic head towards his superior and said, "How much longer must we wait?"

"Forgive me, Schmidt. I apologize for the delay," Zola started. Pointing to the machine he said, "but the repairs to the machine should not take too much longer."

"I hope so," Red Skull said as his scowl deepened. His eyes narrowed as he said, "For all our sakes. For if we do not get into this world soon, I fear that Captain Rogers and his comrades will somehow mess everything I have set up in the other world."

The screen on Zola's robotic head looked as if he were thinking about something. Then he looked up to Schmidt and said, "If you focus the energy through your suit, there might be a little energy for you and another to crossover."

This caused Red Skull's interest to peak as he ordered, "Explain this."

Zola took a step back towards the machine and said, "Through what power had been given to you from the Tesseract, and the chest plate you still wear, I believe that you could open a rift right here to allow two of you to crossover."

Schmidt, now feeling like his plan could unfold the way that he wanted, smirked and said, "Then I shall heed your advice and take one of us with me." But the smirk faded as he asked, "But how long would it take the rest of you to get there?"

"The most I can say is two to three months." Zola said as he turned to the portal. Schmidt sighed as he said, "Very well, I will go. But shall leave you with a small fraction of my power for when you are ready to join us."

Focusing, he created an orb of energy similar to the Tesseract. A hydra soldier came running with a container for the orb. Placing the orb inside of the container, Red Skull looked over his allies on who to take.

Thinking it over, the leader of Hydra said, "I will take the Winter Soldier with me."

This decree causes tension between the gathered recruits as Abomination steps forth and shouted, "Why him?!" The giant gamma mutant pointed at the brainwashed super soldier with a large finger and said, "Why take something lacks the destructive power necessary, when I could?"

"Because, I don't want to use too much energy." Schmidt said, not looking Abomination in the eye for a moment. When he did turn to Abomination he said, "Plus, you have the appetite of two when you get hungry!"

Everyone else but him, Abomination, Bucky and Zola laughed at this. The Destroyer armor just stayed quiet in the corner. Moving to the center of the room, Schmidt said, "Now stay silent and allow me to do what I must." Everyone else in the room stayed quiet as the Red Skull holds both of his hands out in front of him and started to concentrate his powers.

The flare slowly fell back down to Earth over an orange sky as Aang, Katara and Steve finally made their back to Katara's village. As they came down a rise, they saw Appa and all the Water Tribe villagers standing outside the entrance of the village. While some of the children were happy to see them, the adults however, were not. As some of the children ran to them, their parents only glared at them. The kids ran up to the three as they continued to cheer. The kids crowded around the Airbender, whom was equally happy to see them.

An angry Sokka moved to be in front of the villagers and accused the two he thought as strangers, Aang specifically, "I knew it! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them right to us, aren't you."

"Sokka, come-" Steve tried to reason. But Sokka quickly made a diagonal slashing motion with his hand to cut him off. Sokka looked back to Aang as Katara defended her friend, "Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident."

"Yeah. We were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and well," Aang suddenly felt guilty as he said and placed a hand on the back of his head, "we… we boobied right into it."

"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship." Gran-Gran scolded her granddaughter. She sounded worried as she said, "Now we could all be in danger." She looks at Steve and angrily said, "And you were supposed to be the adult in that situation, how could you let this happen?!"

"Don't blame Katara, or Steve for this." Aang tried to redirect their anger towards him. He then admits, "I brought them there. It's my fault."

"Aha!" Sokka said as if he were truly right about Aang and points at him again, "The traitor confesses!" Then the Water Tribe teen orders, "Warriors, away from the enemy. The foreigner is banished from our village."

As the children walk away from the three, Katara angrily said, "Sokka, you're making a mistake."

"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad." Sokka argued. He points at both Aang and Steve as he said, "I'm protecting you from threats like them."

"Aang and Steve are not our enemies!" Katara defended them. She then tried to make the village see by saying, "Don't you see, Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time- fun."

"Fun?" Sokka questioned. He then angrily exclaimed, "We can't fight Firebenders with fun!"

"You should try it sometime." Aang said with a smile. Steve nudged his arm with his elbow, leaned over and said, "Not really helping the case right now."

"Get out of our village, now." Sokka demanded. Katara looked to Gran-Gran and pleaded, "Grandmother, please, don't let Sokka do this."

"Katara, you new going on that ship was forbidden." Gran-Gran said again as if it should have been obvious. She then agreed with Sokka, "Sokka is right. I think it would be best if the Airbender leaves, along with the Captain here."

"Fine! Then _I'm_ banished, too. " Katara shouted in disbelieving anger. She turns and then grabs Aang's wrist and said, "Come on, you guys. Let's go."

Steve just stood there watching the two move towards Appa as Sokka questions, "Where to you think you're going?"

"To find a Waterbender. Aang is taking _me_ to the North Pole. And since Steve's no longer welcomed here, then he can join us if he wants!" She angrily informs. A little confused for the moment, Aang asked, "I am?" He perks up when he says, "Great!"

"Katara!" Sokka yelled after her. Both benders stopped and Steve look to Sokka as he said, "Would you really choose _him_ over your tribe? Your own family?"

Katara stares down at the ground, lost in thought about the choices laid out in front of her. Neither her and Aang, nor Steve move a muscle as she thinks. Aang sees Katara's inner turmoil and steps up to say, "Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family."

The young Airbender starts to walk towards Appa as Katara, voice full of hurt, asks, "So… you're leaving the South Pole? This is good-bye?"

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me." Aang said out of gratitude. Still hurt she asks, "Where will you go?"

Aang turns ninety-degrees and places a hand on Appa's foreleg and said with a smile, "I guess I'll go back home and look for the Airbenders." A thought of slight dread comes to him, changing to one that wasn't looking forward to it, "Wow. I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to _that._ "

Then using his Airbending, does a twist jump up to Appa's head with a whoosh. Katara, still feeling upset about Aang's leaving, feels a hand placed on her shoulder. Turning she sees Steve looking ahead, not looking her in the eye as he said, "Don't worry, I'll go and keep an eye on him."

Cap then runs towards the bison and makes a huge leap onto the saddle. This causes some of the villagers to look in wonder for a moment. Aang then turned his head back to the villagers and said, "It was nice meeting everyone."

"Let's see your bison fly now, Air Boy." Sokka mockingly taunted. Either oblivious or just ignoring the teen's sarcasm, Aang said to the laying down bison while using the reigns, "Come on, Appa. You can do it. Yip-yip!"

But like the day before, Appa didn't start flying he just got up and started to walk. Sokka just said like a smart-alec, "Yeah. I thought so."

Before the two and Appa can leave, a little girl shrieks in sadness and runs up to them, surprising Sokka. The little girl runs and stands to Katara and with big sad and soulful eyes she whined, "Aang, Steve, don't go. I'll miss you."

Looking down at her and then each other, Aang turned back to the little girl and said, "We'll miss you, too."

Both Aang and Steve then look to Katara who couldn't say anything but just looked at them with a look of her own as the wind made her hair loopies sway. Without another word, Aang took the reigns again and said to Appa, "Come on, boy."

Appa gave a small growl as he walked away from the village. Katara and the little girl watch as they kept going. The little girl whimpers in sadness as she turns and walks back into the village. As the little girl passes her, Gran-Gran walks up to her granddaughter and tries to comfort her, "Katara… you will feel better after you…"

But Katara angrily turns on her grandmother and said, "You happy now?" She points before saying, "There goes my one chance at becoming a Waterbender."

With nothing more to say, Katara walks away from her grandmother. Gran-Gran turns and watches her walk off. She looks down and begins to question herself as the wind blows her own hair loopies.

Fearing the worst, Sokka gathers the young boys incase of an invasion. He leads them inside saying, "All right, ready our defenses." As the boys rush past him he said, "The Fire Nation could be on our shores any moment now."

One of the boys stops and turns said, "But I gotta…"

"And no potty-breaks!" Sokka cuts him off while pointing him into the village. Deciding not to make him mad, the boy just rushes into the camp.

Somewhere in the South Pole, Aang, Steve and Appa were resting in the holes of ice formations on their backs. Appa growls something, making Aang look down and say, "Yeah, I liked her, too."

"Wait, you can understand him?" A now confused Steve asks. Aang looks back up and was about to answer, when he saw something in the corner of his eye. With a gasp he sits up and looks out to sea. Hearing the gasp, Steve looks around and asked, "What is it?"

Looking out on the water, Aang saw a lone Fire Nation ship sailing through the water. With a turn of his head, he saw where it was heading, "The village!"

"What about the village?" Steve asks as he joins Aang at his view point. Pointing towards the ship, Steve is immediately able to see it. The Cap's eyes grow wide as Aang used his finger to show him the trouble.

Aang looked Steve in the eye and Steve immediately knew what it meant; Aang wanted to go help the village. With a small smirk in understanding, Steve placed his helmet back on his head and said, "Let's go!"

Both of them slid down from the ice formation, and as Aang made it to the bottom, he looked to his bison and said, "Appa, wait here."

Appa grunted as he shifted on his back as Aang started to run. Steve to one look to the bison and then said, "Don't worry, I'll look after him."

With that said Steve quickly followed after Aang.

Battle Preparations of Sokka and Zuko

Both Water Tribesman Sokka and Fire Nation Prince Zuko prepared themselves for battle…

In the Water Tribe village, Sokka pulled on some special gloves over his hand. Then he tied some string around one of his wrists. When he had the string in a knot, he used his mouth to help tighten it. Next he pulled on a pair of boots. Then dipping both left index and tall fingers into the bowl, Sokka started to decorate his face with war paint. Finally, with his now fully painted head lowered he placed a boomerang in a sheath on his back. Sokka then looked up with readiness and determination in his eyes.

On Prince Zuko's ship as it sailed through the waters of the South Pole, two of his crew helped put on a chest plate on him. After it clicked into place, one of the crewmen helped him keep his shoe attached. Next, they lowered the final piece of his armor over the chest plate and tied it to keep it secure. Finally, one of the crewmen placed a Fire Nation helmet over the prince's head. The helmet was unique as part of it was in the Fire Nation's insignia.

Back in the village, just as Sokka picked up his club, the flame of a candle started to sway from something. But he knew that something was a Fire Navy ship. He ran outside to warn the village.

As some of the villagers gathered by the fire, Sokka stood on top of the wall that over looked the ocean. With his club in his hand, Sokka scanned for anything incoming. He couldn't see anything because of the fog, but he waited and listened for anything suspicious.

Suddenly, a small rumbling sound could be heard, making the villagers gasp as they look to the wall. All the villagers gasp as they waited to see what would happen. The rumbling intensified as the source came closer.

A piece of the wall crumbles between Sokka's feet, making him a little nervous. All the Water Tribe villagers feel very frightened as the rumbling continues. From the corner of his eye, Sokka notices his watchtower starting to shake. When he fully turns his head, the snow made tower falls down to the ground. He winces and then groans, "Oh, man!"

The villagers shriek as they run away from the wall. Katara stops to look at the wall and her faces turns to pure shock and horror as something starts to come through the fog right at the wall and Sokka. Fear taking a small hold his quivering voice he said, "Oh, man."

The ship's shadow starts to loom over the village as its people run away in terror. The ice breaks apart as the ship forces its way through. Sokka didn't move as the ship came closer. The cracks that the ship caused started to make its way towards the village, went over the wall and along the village grounds. Katara looks back and gasps as the crack makes its way towards a child who had fallen behind. Acting quickly, she runs and scoops up the child and then carries the little one to safety.

As the ship came closer, Katara was able to get the child to safety. She looked back, was horrified when she saw that Sokka was still on the wall with the ship inching closer and shouted, "Sokka! Get out of the way!"

Sokka, for some stupid reason, held his club with both hands behind his head and stood his ground. The incoming ship continued to plow through ice and snow, and made the wall crumble. Sokka grunted as he started to slide with the crumbling snow while still standing. When he reached the ground, he lowered the club.

When it stopped steam hissed from the ship. Everyone in the village waited to see if anything would happen. Katara gasped when she saw something happen on the ship. Sokka gasps as well as more steam escapes the ship with a whoosh and the bow starts to lower. With a gasp and a scream, the Water Tribe teen stumbled backwards and jumped right as the piece of metal landed in the snow. All the villagers look up to the opening in the ship, feeling scared as children whimper and women hold the children close.

In the opening, emerging from the steam, Fire Nation soldiers look down upon the village. Prince Zuko walks between two Fire Nation soldiers in armor almost like his, but the only thing different was their helmets. Still like flames just designed differently, their helmets were designed with face masks. Prince Zuko starts to make his way down the ramp, flanked by the soldiers.

While the villagers stood back, waiting on his knees for the right moment, Sokka held his club at the ready. As the Fire Nation made their way down the ramp and gets closer, Sokka gets on his feet and with a war cry he charges at the enemy. Prince Zuko stopped and used a high kick to knock the club out of Sokka's hands. Then bringing his foot back, he kicked Sokka in the face and off the ramp. As Sokka fell into the pile of snow with his legs sticking up in the air flailing the Fire Nation continued down the ramp.

The villagers gasped as the Fire Nation comes closer. While the soldiers stood back, Prince Zuko moved closer to the Water Tribe Villagers. The villagers waited to see what he would do as he looked amongst them. Prince Zuko stopped in front of Katara and Gran-Gran and demanded, "Where are you hiding him?"

He waited for an answer. No one didn't really know how to answer the question, and when no one presented him with anything, Prince Zuko reached forward and grabbed Gran-Gran by the hood who gasped in fear. Holding the old woman by her hood, the prince described who he was looking for, "He'd be about this age, master of all elements."

The villagers still didn't say anything since they didn't really know what he wanted. Prince Zuko shoved Gran-Gran back towards the villagers. Katara took hold her grandmother and then shot Zuko a glare. In a fit of frustration and with a grunt, Prince Zuko makes a sweeping motion with his hand as he used his Firebending to make a stream of flame.

This causes the villager to cry in fear. With an angry yell, Prince Zuko said, "I know you're hiding him!"

From behind, Sokka picks up his club as he ran, did another war cry and ran at the Fire Nation prince. He swung the club, but it missed as Zuko ducked and made Sokka fly through the air. Landing on his butt with a grunt, he looked back and quickly moved while yelling as a fire fist came at him. Doing a roll, Sokka reached behind his back and pulled out his boomerang and threw it. Zuko narrowly dodged it as it flew past him. Taking a second he turned to see where the weapon went, but turned back to his opponent with a scowl.

A boy held Sokka's spear and shouted, "Show no fear!"

Sokka turned his head just as the boy tossed the spear, and caught it in his right hand. With spear in hand, Sokka once again charged at Zuko with spear head pointed at the Firebenders heart. Zuko only used his forearms as he broke the spear, piece by piece. When most of the spear was gone, Zuko yanked the rest of it out of Sokka's hands and used the boney end to bonk the Water Tribe teen on the forehead. After three bonks, Sokka fell flat on his butt. Zuko then broke the spear into two more pieces and threw them down on the ground. Sokka could only sit on the ground rubbing his head in disgrace and defeat.

Unbeknownst to both fighters, the boomerang Sokka threw a few seconds earlier came back around. The boomerang smacks into the back of Zuko's helmet, making him yelp in pain as the blow caused his helmet to move in front of his eyes. With a woozy moan, he rights his helmet, and with a growl he looks to the boomerang and then over at Sokka. Sokka and the villagers just watched and waited to see what would happen. With another growl, Prince Zuko creates fire daggers from the back of his hands.

But just before the prince could attack, Aang came in sledding on the back of a penguin at a fast speed. The young Airbender aimed to go right between the Firebender's legs. Aang and the penguin zips under Prince Zuko, causing him to fly through the air with a groan. Zuko lands and slides towards his soldier on his face. A split second later his helmet lands on his butt with a squeaking sound and did a spin before staying still.

The children cheered as Aang slid past them on the penguin. Three of them stopped cheering as they were covered in slush. They looked at one another before starting to cheer again. Aang's penguin slid to a stop in front of Katara and Sokka. When the sledding was over, the penguin threw Aang off with one last look before waddling away squawking. Sitting with his legs crossed turned his head, he said, "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka."

"Hi, Aang." Sokka waved. The Water Tribe teen was somewhat grateful as he said, "Thanks for coming."

Katara smiled, but it faded when she looked around and said, "Hey, where's Steve?"

Before he could answer, Zuko rises to his feet, and takes a deep breath. When he exhales the soldiers then form a circle around Aang. When the soldiers started to get closer to Aang, a quick blur came and knocked into the six soldiers one by one. Zuko turned to see the thrower as Cap came in and kicked Zuko down to the ground. Jumping away from the downed prince, Steve rolled over to Aang and the shield right next to him. With his foot he kicked the shield up into his hand. The villagers gasped and smiled at the heroics. Aang and Steve looked to the other and nodded before turning back to the fight. As the soldiers got up and came at them again, Aang used his airbending to swat snow two times at all the Fire Nation soldiers. Then with a jumping twist, he brought his staff down and made another spray of snow at Zuko. Zuko used his arms to shield from the attack and shot a glare at Aang and Cap as steam rose from the left over snow on him. Standing tall and placing his staff he said, "Looking for me?"

"You're the Airbender?" Zuko questioned as the snow melted into water. What he said next shocked everyone, "You're the Avatar?!"

Aang readied his staff again for the fight. Katara, feeling confused said, "Aang?" Sokka was really surprised as he said, "No way."

Cap started moving to help Aang, but the Airbender held out a hand to let him know that he could handle this. Respecting his wishes, Steve stayed where he was and watched. Aang and Zuko started to circle each other, the prince commenting, "I've spent years preparing for this encounter- training, meditating." He gave a glare as he said, "You're just a child."

Aang's guard relaxed as he retorted while giving him an odd look and shot back, "Well, you're just a teenager."

Prince Zuko angrily made circular motion as he sent two fire blasts at Aang. Quickly spinning his staff, Aang was able to protect himself from the flames. Both fighters started moving as Zuko started to shoot a fire palm at Aang. Unintentionally, Aang had moved back in front of the villagers. Zuko sent another fire fist at him, and Aang is able to block. With a look of fury, Zuko sends a big fire palm at the Airbender. As he blocks it this time, some of the flames went over and behind Aang. This caused the villagers to scream in terror. Aang looked back and saw what he accidentally caused. After using his airbending to dissipate the flames, he calms himself and strikes a deal, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

After a moment to ponder this, Prince Zuko relaxes his body and nods his head in agreement. Two soldiers flank Aang as a Firebender comes and takes Aang's staff out of his hand. Steve then decides to try again to help Aang, but once again the Airbender looks back and said, "Don't, Steve. I'll be fine."

Steve was stopped in his tracks as Katara ran past the super soldier and said, "No, Aang, don't do this!"

"Don't worry, Katara. It'll be okay." Aang said as he was being led away. As they neared the ramp, the soldiers pushed Aang up it, making the you Airbender grunt in pain. Everyone can only watch in sadness as the Fire Nation depart. Aang gives one last request as he steps on the ramp, "Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

"Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home." Prince Zuko ordered as he, his soldiers and his prisoners made their way up the ramp.

Steve, Katara, Sokka and the villagers could do nothing but watch as the Fire Nation began departing with Aang. The mechanics of the ship whooshed as the ramp started to rise. Katara's eyes start to water as she fears for Aang. As the shadow of the bow comes over the entrance, her sad face causes Aang to feel sad as well. The ramp once again becomes the bow, and the ship departs from the Southern Tribe.

Not long after the ship has left, a giant split in the ice is seen from where the ship was. The villagers try to resume their normal lives, though they feel sad and scared for what just happened. Some try to rebuild what was ruined, namely Sokka's watchtower. Another group brings a tent back up to its standing position.

Both Katara and Steve stand at the edge of the ice and look over the horizon. Steve looks down to the young girl, and sees that she feels scared and hurt about Aang's choice. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she looks up to him and said, "I may not know how you feel, but I do know someone who went through something similar."

"Really, who?" Katara asked. Steve chuckled before saying, "At what I thought was the end of the enemy, in a final attempt to control the world they tried to wreak havoc on my world. I was able to stop them," He looked down as he said, "but on that day, I thought I was going to die, for that was the day I landed in the Arctic and had become frozen."

Katara was shocked but didn't say anything as he continued, "There was someone I had to leave behind when I saved the world. Her name is Peggy Carter, and like the rest of the world, she went on without me. Though she did miss me." He looked to her and said, "But we also have to remember that this was Aang's choice."

"I guess you're right, Steve." She said as she closed her eyes and faced forward. They heard a crunch in the snow, and turning they saw Sokka coming up behind them with a pack. Facing the ocean again as Sokka walked right by them, Katara said, "We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang saved our tribe, now we have to save him."

"Katara, I…" Sokka tried, but Katara was to focused on what she was saying. Steve looked to where Sokka had been walking to, and his eyes grew wide at his intentions. Katara, not knowing what he was doing, then commented, "Why can't you realize he's on our side?"

Sokka and Steve just waited as she kept going, "If we don't help him, no one will. I know you don't like Aang, but we owe him and…"

"Katara!" Sokka shouted. She looked back as he said, "Are you gonna talk all day or coming with us?" Then he pointed at a readied canoe. With a gasp she runs to her brother, "Sokka!"

Steve followed behind as Sokka was hugged by his sister. After getting a little room as they were joined by Steve, Sokka said while motioning, "Get in. We're going to save your boyfriend."

Her face fell as she argued, "He's not my…"

"Whatever." Sokka dropped it. But before any of them could do anything, a familiar voice caught them off guard, "What do you three think you're doing?"

Sokka, Katara and Steve look nervous as they turned to find Gran-Gran with a disapproving look on her face. Her face changed to one of both happiness and pride as she held up something and said, "You'll need these." She held up a pack for them, saying, "You have a long journey ahead of you."

This surprised the three of them, but Sokka and Katara most of all. Gran-Gran then said, "It's been so long since I've had hope," she stepped closer to Katara, "but you brought it back to life, my little Waterbender." The two hugged before Gran-Gran turned to Sokka and said, "And you, my brave warrior," Sokka listened as his grandmother said, "be nice to your sister." A little disappointed, but he got over it quick as he promised as she hugged him, "Yeah, okay, Gran." He patted her on the back as released him and turned toward Steve and asked, "Please, watch over my grandchildren." He nodded and said, "You have my word, I'll take good care of them." He held out his hand, which Gran-Gran took and lightly shook.

"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance." Looking between her grandson and granddaughter she said, "You both found him for a reason." She looked to Steve and said, "And you literally dropped into our lives for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his." All three of them looked to each other before Katara looked down at the canoe and said, "There's no way we're going to catch a warship with a canoe."

"I guess we should have thought about how to catch up to Aang a bit more." Steve guessed. Their prayers were answered when a low growl came from behind a hill of snow. Looking up they saw Appa climbing to the top of the hill and roared down at them. Katara realized something and said, "Appa!"

"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?" Sokka sarcastically asked as Katara ran to the bison. Steve put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "A soldier needs to know when it's time _to_ get out of the comfort zone."

Prince Zuko's ship sailed through the waters of the South Pole as it made its way to the Fire Nation. On its deck, the aforementioned prince, his uncle, a few soldiers and Aang stood as Zuko held Aang's staff in his hands. Aang had his hands tied behind his back as Zuko proudly said, "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." Holding the staff high, he turned his voice to Aang he rudely said, "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks." He clacked the end of the staff to the ground as Aang felt insulted by Zuko's comment.

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold." Prince Zuko ordered the two Firebenders behind Aang. They both did as he commanded and led Aang away. Turning to his uncle and held the staff to him he said, "And take this to my quarters."

His uncle took hold of the staff, but when Zuko walked away, he turned to the Firebender next to him and said, "Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?"

The Firebender did as he was asked and took the staff into his hands as Zuko's uncle walked off.

Aang grunted as one of the Firebenders shoved him forward. Aang looked back to see where they were taking his staff. Aang and the two Firebenders moved to a spot on the ship that went down by some stairs. One of the Firebenders took the lead down as the other held Aang back. As he went down, the young Airbender watched as the Firebender who had his staff disappear into the door.

As the three moved through the inside of the ship, Aang decided to make small talk as he thought of his next move, "So… I guess you've never fought an Airbender before." He then taunted, "I bet I could take you both with my hands tied behind my back."

"Silence." The Firebender in front of him simply said. The three continued to make their way to the end of the hall. They soon stopped at the door at the end of the hall. As the guard in front pulled up a key, Aang decided to make his move. Taking a deep breath right when the guard places the key in the lock, Aang lets out a huge gust of wind that blows him into the Firebender behind him and knocks the one in front into the door with a grunt. Aang and the Firebender propelled down the hall and when the Firebender hit his back against the stairs, Aang uses his Airbending to jump through the hole and back onto the deck. As he landed, Aang quickly stumbled towards the door and with a high kick he used his Airbending to send a wave of swirling wind to open the door. When it was open, Aang rushed right inside. Panting while he ran, Aang began to search for Zuko's quarters and his staff.

Back outside, one of the Firebenders that was supposed to be escorting Aang came on the deck and told a Firebender at the top of the tower, "The Avatar has escaped!"

The Firebender quickly ran inside.

Back in the Hydra Base, the Red Skull still had his arms stretched out before him as he continued to concentrate his powers. Sweat started to run down his crimson skin as his hands started to glow blue. Zola had a device in hand as he monitored the output of energy. Turning his head towards Schmidt he said, "Only a few more minutes. I promise."

Johann Schmidt strained from the experience.

Trailing after the Fire Navy ship, Appa swam slowly with Katara, Steve and Sokka on his back and head. Appa growled as he continued to swim. Sokka tried to make Appa fly by saying without much emotion, "Go. Fly. Soar."

Appa only grunts as a response.

"Please, Appa." Katara tried being a little nicer as she gripped the reigns. She makes a few points, "We need you help. Aang needs your help."

"Up. Ascend. Elevate." Sokka still tries. Steve and Katara both looks at him as Katara tries to reason with Appa, "Sokka doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, Appa." She leans down and strokes his fur as she said, "Come on, don't you want to save Aang?"

Appa only grunts again. Seeing as they weren't going anywhere for a while moved closer to Katara and asked, "I know that we're supposed to be more focused on saving Aang at the moment, but could you explain your world to me a little more? What exactly is bending, and what exactly does it mean when that guy said Aang's an 'Avatar'?"

Moving back up, Katara then explained, "Bending is a form of art that some people are able to do; you've seen two types of bending already, air and fire. You've seen Aang do some Airbending and the Fire Nation teen did some Firebending. Even I can do a little Waterbending." Pointing to Sokka he asked, "So, can he-"

"Well, not everyone is born a bender. It just happens to those who are able to move the elements." Katara said, trying to not make it sound too harsh for Sokka. Said older brother just sat there and pouted. Going back to the other half of the question she said, "As for the Avatar, it's a person who is chosen at birth to master all four of the elements: water, earth, fire and air. The Avatar is the one who protects the world when it becomes out of balance. And right now the Avatar is Aang."

Appa groaned as if in agreement or something and then started to swim a little faster. Sokka then tried to remember what Aang said the previous day, "What was it that kid said?" He thought through the phrases, "Yee-haw? Hup-hup? Wa-hoo? Uh… yip-yip?"

That last one had seemed to do the trick as the bison started rumbling. Appa groaned as he started to move to where he could fly, and with a single flap of his tail and a few bounds on the water he then shot out of the water. Soon Appa climbed higher in the sky. Katara and Steve looked in amazement as the former shouted, "You did it, Sokka!"

"He's flying! He's flying! Katara, Steve! He's…" Sokka excitedly shouts as he looks to the others. Both of them have small smirks on their faces. Going back to the more sarcastic teenager attitude he said, "I mean, big deal, he's flying." But when he turned away, his smile returned.

With Appa now in the air, the four were able to catch up more quickly with the Fire Navy ship.

Back on Prince Zuko's ship, Aang panted as he continued to run through the halls of it. As he comes down a turn, he stops with a shriek as he sees an obstacle. In his way are three normal Fire Nation soldiers with swords in their hands. Then either to make small talk or to distract them the young Airbender asked, "You haven't seen my staff around, have you?"

The three soldiers tensed as they readied their weapons. Using his Airbending to give him a burst of speed, Aang was able to run up the wall past and narrowly missing a slash from the first, came down and through the legs of the second, up the wall again and when he came down he once again narrowly avoided another slash from the third as he ran off as he shouted, "Thanks, anyway."

Aang jumped up through a door that the ladder went through. As he came down on the floor, he came face to face with a Firebender. The Firebender sent a fire blast at him as Aang ran forward. Making a huge leap, Aang somersaulted to where his tied hands would catch on the flame horn of the soldier's helmet. As he fell and made the Firebender fall, the ropes snapped, freeing his hands. The soldier grunted in pain as he landed on the floor.

As Aang ran to a fork in the halls, he went down the right hallway. He checked most of the doors he came upon. But he didn't see either the Zuko's living quarters or his staff. He opened a few doors and saw weapons, soldiers quarters and came upon Zuko's sleeping uncle. He poked his head, and saw the man lying on his back snoring away. Quietly slipping out of the room and shutting the door, he whispered, "Sorry."

Aang kept searching and ran by an open door with his staff inside. He almost missed it as he ran right by. Quickly stopping he went back to the room and poked his head in the doorway. With a look and feel of relief he ran in while saying said, "My staff!"

But as he ran into the room, the door slams shut behind him. Aang turns around to see that Prince Zuko had been standing behind it. Not wanting the Airbender to get out he locked it and said, "Looks like I underestimated you."

Prince Zuko gives Aang a cold stare as they both stared at each other. Zuko made the first move by putting his right foot in front, and with his right arm stretched out and then made a circular motion with it before using his left fist to shoot a blast of fire. Aang yells as he dodges the fire blast when it hits the wall behind him. Zuko sent another fire blast at him, which he dodges with ease. After another fireball is shot at him, Aang was backed into a corner. The young Airbender was truly terrified as he panted in the corner. Zuko sent two more fire fists at him, but Aang rolled out of the way as the flames hit the wall. After dodging the second blast he dived between Zuko's legs. Zuko turned to give him a fire punch, but Aang quickly moved behind Zuko as he tried to find and attacked him with a fire kick or punch. Zuko kept trying to attack, but Aang kept moving behind him when he moved. From the outside one could see the commotion as an orange light could be seen from one of the windows.

Aang had just an air shield to defend himself as he moved back. As Zuko came at him with his hand as a flaming dagger, Aang created an air sphere around the prince's hand. Zuko tried to use his elbow, but Aang ducked as it came at him. The prince tried to use a fist to punch him, but Aang used his left foot to hold him back before using Zuko as a spring board and launched himself away. As leapt into the air, he turned his hands in a circular motion and created an air sphere and rode on it through the room. Zuko would send fire kicks and punches at the fleeing Aang but would keep missing due to the Airbender's quickness. Zuko used a twist as he made a stream of fire. Aang gasped when Zuko used a streaming high kick of fire and then made a sweeping motion with his hand as a stream of fire flowed. As Aang rode the air sphere across the ceiling, Zuko shot a stream of fire after him. Then, as he rode past him, Zuko used a sweeping kick of fire to knock Aang of the air sphere. Aang yells as he was sent flying and grunts in pain as he hits a wall. Then doing a jump on his hands, he grabbed a Fire Nation tapestry by the top and brought it with him. In one quick motion, Aang starts wrapping the tapestry around Prince Zuko. As the tapestry wraps around Zuko, Aang makes sure that it's nice and tight.

With Zuko struggling to get out, Aang runs and retrieves his staff. But when he turns around at the ready, Zuko used his Firebending to escape. Aang grimaces at this, feeling a little scared when he whimpers. Both fighters move with Zuko moving closer to his mat and Aang to the door. When he was close enough, Aang used his staff and his Airbending to blow the mat onto the prince. Both mat and prince hit the wall, and as the mat hit floor first, Zuko fell down after. Aang did another sweep of his staff upwards and sent them up to the ceiling. When he fell to the floor, Zuko looked up with a growl and saw that Aang was gone and the door was wide open.

Near the top of the ship, Aang used his Airbending to open the hatch at the top of the ladder. When it opened he stuck his head and saw the open door at the end of the bridge. Deciding to go for it, he pulled himself up and ran to the door. He jumped over something on the floor and ran out the door with the helmsman watching. Out on the deck, Aang happily felt the wind on his face as he spread his arms out. Then he threw his staff out into the wind where it turned into the glider. He jumped and grabbed onto his staff, intending to fly away. But he didn't get far as a screaming Zuko jumped from behind and grabbed Aang's ankle. The extra weight began to throw Aang off as he strained to keep himself in the air. But a second later, they both fell out of the sky and crashed and bounced on the deck of the ship. Both of them lay on the deck for a moment, but Zuko was the first to stir as he glanced back and he growled as his eyes narrowed.

Both Benders get up and took a fighting stance as a growling sound came from overhead. Both of them look behind the ship to see Appa and his passengers. A little frightened, Zuko relaxed his guard and said, "What is that?"

Appa continued to groan as he got closer to the ship as the three passengers rode in the saddle. Aang happily shouted, "Appa!"

But he turned his attention back to the fight as Zuko once again went on the attack. He quickly spun his staff, but he was knocked back by a fire blast. Using his staff like a propeller over his head, he was able to steady himself up against the railing of the ship. When he righted himself, he saw Zuko attack again. Spinning his staff again as the prince shot another fire fist at him, he kept it up as Zuko sent two more blasts at him. The third blast knocked the staff out of his hands, and he was forced back near the railing. As the staff tumbled away, Aang dodged another fire blast and then a fire sweep. The dodge from the fire sweep made him jump back on the railing. As he landed on the railing, a fire ball went underneath his legs. Aang tried to keep his balance on the railing, but Zuko sent more fire his way and when he used a fire punch and a high fire kick. The flames made Aang faint and fall back into the ocean and splashed into the cold frigid waters.

As he sank deeper, Katara, Steve and Sokka were scared and worried for him as she cried, "Aang! No!"

From beneath the waves, Aang could hear her muffled echoing cries for him, "Aang! Aang! AANG!"

On the third call, Aang's eyes snapped open as they and his tattoos glowed white and his face looked more serious. He righting himself in the water, Aang started to spin as he brought water around his body. Then using Waterbending, he propelled himself back to the surface. As he broke through the water, he made the water that he had wrapped around turn into a funnel as he directed it towards the ship. Soon he was over it, and Zuko and the guards looked up at Aang with mixtures of awe and fear. Aang moved himself and the water funnel down to the deck and bent the water around him into a swirling ring. Then Aang made the ring to become larger where it would push the Fire Nation soldiers away. It pushed Prince Zuko over the side of the ship, and he yelled as he fell.

Up on Appa, Steve, Katara and Sokka looked in amazement to what they just witnessed. Katara asked in awe, "Did you see what he just did?"

"Now _that_ was some waterbending." Sokka said in equal amazement. Steve couldn't agree more as he said, "If only the others could have seen that just now."

Both Water Tribe children looked at him when he said that as Appa descended down to the ship. Aang was starting to come out of whatever it was as he started moaning and fainting. His head hit the ground and the glow fades from his tattoos. When Appa lands on the deck, the three jump off his back and run to him. Katara shouted as they ran, "Aang!"

She and Steve helped prop Aang up as he woke up, and then Katara asked, "Are you okay?"

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Hey, Steve." Aang weakly greeted. He then tried to sound happy and grateful, even though he still felt out of it, "Thanks for coming."

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory." Sokka joked. Steve chuckled and said, "I know how that can go."

All four of them laughed at this. Aang then said, "I dropped my staff."

"Got it!" Sokka said as he ran to retrieve it. As he came close to it, Sokka reached down and grabbed hold of it. But as he started picking it up, another hand grabbed the staff. Sokka shrieks as he sees that the hand belonged to Prince Zuko. As Sokka took a step back which brought Zuko closer to getting back on board, he did the same thing that Zuko did back in the village and started butting his head with the end of the staff. After three taps, Zuko let go and fell back down. Luckily for the prince he as able to grab on to the anchor's chain. Looking down in victory and gloated as he shouted, "Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!"

As Katara and Steve pushed Aang onto a groaning Appa's head and Appa standing up, they saw the Fire Nation soldiers getting up. As the Firebenders came at them, Steve rushed to intercept them. One of the Firebenders shot a fire fist at him, but Steve raised the shield to protect himself. Then he threw the shield at the Firebender. The shield hit the man in the face, disorienting him and as he turned back towards the Captain, Steve punched his lights out. As that Firebender went down, another made a sweeping motion with his hand as a stream of fire followed. Cap did a limbo slide underneath the flames as he picked his shield back up and used it to punch the Firebender in the gut. As the man held his gut from having the wind knocked out, Cap jumped and did a spinning kick to his face, knocking him down to the ground.

Katara was left on her own as the non-bending soldiers with spears came at her. Taking a waterbending stance she starts to raise some of the left over water. The soldiers seemed anxious about this as they halt. But when she threw the water with a grunt, it went behind her and the water froze all the way to Sokka as he stepped into it. When he found he couldn't move, Sokka yelled, "Katara!"

The soldiers started to come at her again, thinking that there wasn't anything to fear. Learning from her mistake, Katara turned herself around and did as she did before. She raised the water from the deck and then throwing her arms back, she thrust the water at the soldiers. The water crackles as it turns into ice. Slowly turning, she saw her handiwork as the soldiers could only twitch their fingers. Finding it just a little bit creepy, she slowly backed away. Steve ran over to her and quickly said, "Well, done." And then went over to help Sokka.

As she climbed on the bison's back, she yelled, "Hurry up, you guys!"

"I'm just a guy with a boomerang!" Sokka said in irritation as he hacked away at the ice. Steve ran up to him, removed his shield from his back and started hacking too as he said, "I didn't ask for all this flying, and magic."

When he was free and after picking up the staff, both Water Tribesman and super soldier ran to Appa. As they ran up the tail Sokka shouted, "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!"

Appa groans as Sokka and Steve jump into the saddle. With a flap of his tail, Appa started to lift into the sky. Zuko's uncle had just stepped out as Appa flew away. He was confused as he said and rubbed his eye, "Huh? Huh?"

Appa turned around as he flew from the ship. As the bison got farther away, Zuko's uncle helped him back onto the ship. Looking up at the fleeing bison and his passengers, a desperate Zuko shouted, "Shoot them down!"

Appa climbed higher and higher into the sky. Back on the deck of the ship, Zuko and his uncle both performed a firebending move. Mirroring their movements, Zuko and his uncle held an arm out while holding the other hand high as they held up a knee. Then in one fluid movement, they twisted together a few feet and then used both hands to launch a huge fire blast at the bison.

Up on the bison, the three passengers in the saddle looked worried. But Aang was the brave one at the moment and jumped over Steve to the back of the saddle. Opening the tail end a little, Aang held his staff high and as the fireball came closer, he put all his strength into the swing. With a little airbending he made an air wave which diverted the fireball towards an ice wall. The fireball crashes into the ice which in turn causes an avalanche of ice and snow. Zuko gasps as it comes crashing down on the ship.

The four friends laugh at Prince Zuko's misfortune as they fly away.

As the ship was stuck in the giant mound of snow and ice, everyone on deck who wasn't frozen stood up. Both Zuko and his uncle were on their knees as the latter said, "Good news for the Fire Lord." He stood up as he said, "The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."

"That kid, Uncle, just did this." Prince Zuko said as he stood up and pointed to everything that happened on the ship. With determination in his voice he said, "I won't underestimate him again."

"No, you shall not." A disembodied voice said. Both Zuko and his uncle looked around for the source of the voice. Prince Zuko then demanded, "Show yourself, whoever you are!"

"As you wish, your Majesty." The voice said, a moment later a blue portal opened between the two royal Firebenders. Both Zuko and his uncle jump back in slight fright. Two figures emerged from the swirling blue vortex. A man with red facial skin and another man with a silver arm stepped through the portal. Both men were wearing black. The man with the red skin stepped closer to Prince Zuko and said, "Greetings, Fire Nation Prince Zuko."

Zuko's eyes grew wide and said, "I know of you. I once read about you back in the Fire Nation."

"I am flattered. I once visited the Fire Nation once before, and had promised your Nation help to conquer the other two nations if they were to help me in my conquest when your war is over." He said with a slight chuckle. Bringing a hand up to his chest he said in an odd accent, "My name, is Johann Schmidt. The esteemed leader of the organization of Hydra."

His attention was diverted to the damage of the ship and then he said, "Tell me. Has HE returned to the world?"

Prince Zuko looked down, thinking about what he should do. He decided to be honest and nodded once. Schmidt let out a sigh and said, "Then this could be a major problem in our plans." Another thought came to him and he said, "Did he receive help of any sort?"

"Yes, actually." Zuko's uncle came forth and said with his hands in his sleeves. Johann Schmidt, Zuko and the other man turned to him as he said, "In addition to two Water Tribe children, there was a man wearing a blue uniform and helmet. He also had a round shield. It was so fast, and it could hit really hard."

Schmidt then takes a deep breath and then said, "I thought as much." Turning to his comrade he told Zuko, "In that case, I think it would be best if I left the Winter Soldier with you."

This made Zuko confused and asked, "But, why?"

"Because, should you continue to pursue the Avatar, then you will no doubt run into the Captain again. The Winter Soldier here will be a great asset to you on your quest. For he can match the Captain in combat." Schmidt explained. Turning to a clear spot, he raised a hand and then channeled the energy through his suit and created another portal. It amazed both Zuko and his uncle. Slightly turning his head he said, "I must go and speak with you father." He stepped towards the portal but before he went through, he turned to the prince and said, "I shall not tell your father of this setback, but I do say that you shouldn't make any more mistakes." Zuko narrowed his eyes a little at this but didn't say anything. Schmidt turned to the Winter Soldier and said, "Stay with the prince until further notice."

The silent mercenary only nodded. Then without another word, Johann Schmidt stepped through the portal. A split second later it vanished as it had come.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Zuko turned to his soldiers and ordered, "Dig the ship out and follow them."

But some of the soldiers seemed to busy using their firebending to thaw out their comrades. With a sigh and a quick turn, Zuko then said, "As soon as you're done with that."

He looked from the soldiers to the Winter Soldier and then up into the sky, thinking about his next encounter with the Avatar.

Appa had flown somewhere far North later that day. Sokka sat up against the back of the saddle, both Katara and Steve sat in the middle and Aang sat on the edge at the front of it. Katara was still shocked and awed by what she saw as she asked, "How did you do that… with the water?" Aang looks over as she said, "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"I don't know." Aang honestly said as he looked to the horizon. He turned his head to his friends when he said, "I just sort of… did it."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara lightly questioned. Feeling downhearted about it, Aang looked away and said, "Because… I never wanted to be."

Deciding to be a good friend, Steve got up and carefully walked over to Aang and then sat on his knees. Placing a hand on his shoulder he said, "You know, me and a friend got our powers through different means… We kind of know how you feel."

"Really, how?" Both Aang and Sokka asked. Pointing to him he said, "Like I said yesterday, I got my powers during the war by a procedure. My friend got his powers through an accident."

"What kind of accident?" Katara asked. Steve looked down before saying, "The kind that makes one really scared for himself and mostly for others." Turning back to Aang he said, "To be honest, I simply wanted to join the army. But I wasn't exactly healthy enough for it. But when I got my powers, I felt a new purpose for my life. Neither of us might not fully know the burdens and the responsibilities of being the Avatar, but _YOU_ were chosen to be the Avatar for a reason. Don't forget that." Aang slightly smiled, but it faded as he looked down again. A cloud then passed over the group as they flew. All four of them were silent as three of the looked to Aang. They flew in silence for a few minutes.

Katara went back to another subject, "But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."

"And how am I going to do that?" Aang questioned. Katara recalled something from stories, "According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?"

"That's what the monks told me." Aang said and looked to them. An idea formed in her head as Katara perked up and then said, "Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master waterbending."

"We could learn it together!" Aang said, now turned and cheered up as well. They all looked to Sokka as his sister said, "And, Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some Firebender heads on the way."

"I'd like that, I'd really like that." Sokka said to himself. Then he remembered something and said, "Wait, Steve, I remember you saying something about 'the others' when Aang did that cool waterbending move. Did you come with someone when you feel from the sky?"

"Heh." Steve chuckled before saying, "I actually did come with some people. But it would appear that me and my five friends had been separated in entry." Looking over the horizon he said, "They could be anywhere on your world."

"Then we'll find them." Aang said and placed a hand on the super soldier's shoulder. He then said, "We can look for them on the way up to the North Pole." Then Katara said, "Then we're in this together."

"All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to while we find Steve's friends." Aang said as he took out a scroll and airbended himself down to the floor of the saddle. He unrolled a small map of the Four Nations. Everyone gathered around as he pointed to three different spots on the map, "Here, here and here."

"Does this sound like some sort of vacation to you?" Steve asked Sokka. The Water Tribe teen only shrugged his shoulders.

"What's there?" Katara asked as she pointed to one of the spots. Aang then explained the spots on the map, "Here, we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then way over here we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here, we'll ride the hog monkeys." His three friends looked to each other with odd stares as he said, "They don't like people riding them," They then look back at him as he said, "But that's what makes it fun!"

And so, the five friends had their course set.

Author's Note: And with that, Chapter Two of Book One is finished. I will continue this fanfiction, but I want to get started and/or finish some other fanfiction I have planned. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	3. Chapter Three: The Southern Air Temple

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Aang has a worried look on his face as he said, "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that."_

 _Gran-Gran brings supplies to Sokka and Katara as they and Steve prepare to go after Aang._

" _That kid, uncle just did this." Zuko said as they observed the damaged ship._

 _A bright blue portal opens, allowing the Red Skull and the Winter Soldier to cross over to the other world. Schmidt turns to Zuko and said, "I'll leave the Winter Soldier with you."_

 _Aang, Katara, Sokka and Steve are sitting in the saddle as Aang placed a map for all of them to see. He points to three different spots on the map. One was in a white landmass near the South Pole._

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Three: The Southern Air Temple**

A new day starts as the sun rises from the East. Some where a little ways to the north of the Southern Water Tribe, the group had made camp by a lake with rocky hills. Three of the group were already up as Steve and Katara all started packing their sleeping bags into Appa's saddle. Aang was up on the bison's head tightening the reigns as Appa was chewing on some grass. The young Airbender was so excited as he described the Air temple to Katara and Steve, "Wait till you see it guys. The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."

"Aang, I know you're excited," Katara said, trying to help to not get his hopes up, "but it's been a hundred years since you've been home."

"That's why I'm so excited." Aang looked to her with a bright smile. She tried to make him see that not everything would be as he once knew, "It's just that a lot can change in all that time."

Steve walked up to the bison's head and said, "Katara is quite right on that part." Both young Benders looked to the super soldier as he said, "When I had come out of the ice, many changes had passed me by while I was under." He looked to the horizon as he said, "My world vanished as a new one came over it. Nothing lasts as we want it to."

"I know." Aang said, understanding, but undeterred, "But I need to see it for myself."

After finishing with the reigns, Aang lightly jumped off of Appa's head down to the ground. Touching down, the Airbender ran past Steve and over to the member of their party who hadn't gotten up yet as he snored.

"Wake up, Sokka." Aang said excitedly, "Air Temple, here we come!"

Sokka groaned as he just wanted to sleep for a little longer and rolled onto his side as with his eyes open and said, "Sleep now. Temple later." Then the Water Tribesman closed them again and resumed snoring.

Steve looked up to Katara who could only shrug from her brother's antics. Though he was a little annoyed by this, Aang then gave a big smiled as he thought of something to get Sokka up. Reaching down he picked up a stick. Then very sneaky like, he got closer to Sokka's sleeping bag. Then making himself sound scared he cried, "Sokka, wake up!" He moved the end of the stick along Sokka's sleeping bag as he said, "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"

Believing him and feeling like there was something slithering on him, the Water Tribesman started screaming as he hopped up in his sleeping bag and shouted as he hopped, "Get it off! Get it off! Ah!" He tripped and fell face first into the dust, and when he looked up he had a very irritated look on his face. Katara laughed at this, while Steve slightly chuckled to himself. Looking down over his shoulder, Aang said, "Great. You're awake. Let's go!"

Some where at a Fire Nation base in taken territory, many tall and proud Fire Navy warships were docked at the piers. One ship had just docked into the port. Its ramp was lowered as Prince Zuko, his uncle and the Winter Soldier walk onto the docks. Prince Zuko sounded like in a hurry, which he kind of was, as he said, "Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail."

"You mean the Avatar." His uncle said aloud. Both he and the Winter Soldier were taken aback as Prince Zuko turned and warned, "Don't mention his name on these docks." He couldn't bear the thought of competition as he said, "Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way."

"Getting in the way of what?" A new and older voice questioned. All three of them turned to see a Fire Nation officer with his hands behind his back and wearing a sash over his armor making his way towards them. The man had a look in his eye as he said, "Prince Zuko?"

"Captain Zhao." Prince Zuko said and crossed his arms. Zhao corrected him, "It's Commander now." He gave a bow to Prince Zuko's uncle and said, "And General Iroh, great hero of our nation." He turned his attention to the Winter Soldier standing behind the two and said, "And you must be the Winter Soldier. News has traveled quick from the capital. Our new friend by the name, um," he took a moment to remember, then said, "Johann Schmidt, has informed the Fire Lord that his army will be joining us to help win the war."

"Retired general." Iroh politely corrected with a bow. Commander Zhao continued, "The Fire Lord's brother and son, plus an ally from Hydra, are welcome guests anytime." He then asked, "What brings you to my harbor?"

"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh said before pointing to the ship. Taking a look at the damage, Zhao figured that something big must have happened as he said, "That's quite a bit of damage."

"Yes. You wouldn't believe what happened." Prince Zuko said as he tried to make it sound believable. But he decided to turn it over to his uncle, "Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened."

General Iroh looked a little worried about being thrown under the bus about this, but kept his cool as he said, "Yes, I will do that." He tried to think of something as he said, "It was incredible." He leaned towards his nephew and tried to silently ask, "What? Did we crash or something?"

"Yes." Prince Zuko said to play along, "Right into an Earth Kingdom ship."

"Really?" Zhao asked, though he clearly didn't buy it. But he decided to humor them by saying, "You must regale me with the _thrilling_ details." He leaned closer to Prince Zuko and asked, "Join me for a drink?"

"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko said trying to deny the offer by walking away. He was stopped when his uncle grabbed his shoulder and said, "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." Turning to the Commander he said with a bow, "We would be honored to join you." Both men started to walk away as Iroh asked, "Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

This left both Zuko and the Winter Soldier alone as the prince growled in frustration and threw down small blasts of fire with his hands. Without another word, they both began to follow Iroh and Zhao.

Aang and his friends were flying on Appa over clouds in a mountainous region. As Aang and Katara sat on Appa's head, Sokka and Steve sat in the saddle. As the Captain looked over the side at the terrain, Sokka was just sitting there. His stomach growled up at him, making him clutch his stomach.

"Gee, it sounds like you need to feed the beast, Sokka." Steve joked, making the two up front giggle. Sokka didn't find it as funny as he looked down to his stomach and said in irritation, "Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food."

Reaching behind him, he pulled out a small sack. He reached into the sack for a small bit of food, but when he couldn't feel anything he turned the bag upside down and gave it a little shake. All that fell out was a few crumbs into his gloved palm. Looking between the three of them, he questioned, "Hey, who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"

"Oh, that was food?" Aang said as if he did something that he shouldn't have. Turning his head he said, "I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."

"You what?!" Sokka exclaimed. Then he put on a comical sad face as he thought back, "Aw! No wonder the flames smelled so good."

He was given a pat on the back from an understanding Steve as they continued to fly on. They soon came upon a tall mountain range as Aang happily exclaimed, "The Patola Mountain Range!"

Katara turned her head to him and said, "Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the Airbenders."

Aang gives her a small look before his smile comes back, "What about them?"

"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see." Katara told him. She closed her eyes when she said, "The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother." She opened her eyes and looks to him as she said, "And they could have done the same to your people."

Aang ponders about what she said, before making a point of his own, "Just because no one has seen an Airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all." He looked somewhat certain as he looked forward while saying, "They probably escaped."

"I know it's hard to accept." Katara said. But Aang still believed he was right and said, "You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an Airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison." He looked down to his beloved pet and said, "Right, Appa?"

Appa growled in what sounded like agreement. Aang yells, "Yip-yip!" Making Appa fly higher into the sky. Appa continued climbing higher as he flew along the steep slope of the mountain. Near the peak, Appa rounded the mountain and then continued to fly higher. While Aang was used to flying this way, Sokka, Katara and Steve had to hang on for dear life as they went up. As they went over the mountain's peak, they came to one of the highest points, and as they flew over another mountain the Southern Air Temple came into view. The three outsiders were amazed by the view as Aang said, "There it is! The Southern Air Temple!"

"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara exclaimed in excitement. As they drew closer, Aang spoke to Appa as he said, "We're home, buddy. We're home."

Back at the Fire Nation harbor in Zhao's personal tent, he was discussing the plans of the Fire Lord with Zuko and the others, "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

Iroh and the Winter Soldier were somewhat listening, though the former was looking, and maybe somewhat messing with a rack of spears.

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." Prince Zuko said bitterly. As Commander Zhao sat down he said, "Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue."

As he spoke to the prince, Iroh was messing with the spear rack. Then the commander asked, "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

His attention was stolen when the spear rack Iroh was messing with fell over. General Iroh cringed from it, but was a humble man and said, "Uh… my fault entirely."

Putting his hands inside his robe, Iroh slowly backed away to a chair. The Commander's attention was drawn back as Prince Zuko said, "We haven't found him yet."

"Did you really expect to?" Commander Zhao questioned. He then pointed out, "The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the Airbenders."

Prince Zuko looked away from this, knowing that it wasn't true. Zhao suspected something was up and said, "Unless you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."

"No, nothing." Zuko claimed and turned away as if to have found nothing. Not really buying it, the Commander told him as he stood up, "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the fire Nation from winning this war." He leaned down closer to the prince and said, "If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."

"I haven't found anything." Prince Zuko said sticking with his story as he looked to the commander. Looking the man in the eye he said, "It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago."

Commander Zhao didn't buy into this story for a second, but didn't let his face show it. Standing up to leave, Prince Zuko said, "Come on, Uncle. We're going."

As the prince started walking out, two guards lowered their halberds in front of him cutting off his exit. A third soldier walked past him towards the commander. The Winter Soldier only watched as the soldier reported, "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."

Prince Zuko lowered his head at the news.

"Now remind me." Commander Zhao said with a smile. Walking to the Prince he repeated the question from earlier, "How, exactly, was your ship damaged?"

Back at the Southern Air Temple, the group had left Appa where they landed as the three followed Aang up to the temple. Walking up the curvy path, Aang ran ahead while Sokka, Katara and Steve walked behind. They rounded a corner as they continued. Being the insensitive one at the moment, he asked, "So where do I get something to eat?"

"Seriously, Sokka?" Steve questioned while the teen put a hand up to his stomach. Katara was in agreement as she said, "Yeah, you're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an Airbender temple, and all you can think about is food?"

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs." Sokka told them bluntly. They walked up to Aang who stared at something from a cliff. Pointing down the mountain he said, "So that's where my friends and I would play airball." They saw a giant court with tall wooden pillars and what appeared to be two goal posts, "And over there is where the bison would sleep." They looked to where he was pointing at as he continued, "And…" Then he sighed.

"Everything, okay?" Steve asked as they noticed how his mood turned from excited to sad. Katara even asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's just that this place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison." Aang said as he was disappointed as they didn't see anything, "Now there's just a bunch of weeds." He sounded much sadder as he said, "I can't believe how much things have changed."

The three of them looked to each other, and Sokka decided to be the one to cheer him up. As they stepped closer, the older Water Tribesman said with a smile, "So, uh… this airball game. How do you play?"

This managed to turn the direction of Aang's face. He smiled as he looked behind him.

Thirty minutes later…

Sokka stood ready at one of the posts while Aang stood at the other. Taking a stance with the ball held in his right hand, Aang used his airbending to make it spin from his right hand to his left, before moving it back to his right and then using his airbending to suspend it in the air. Aang then made it go up high into the air. Sokka kept his eyes on the ball. As it came back down, Aang had his eyes momentarily closed and when it was close enough, he did a spin kick to it with a blast of airbending. The ball ricochet off the far posts then to posts that were closer as it headed for Sokka. He gasps as it came right at him. He grunts as the ball smacks into his gut and sends him flying through the goal post. Fortunately, the Water Tribe teen landed in a bush. Both Katara and Steve winced as he landed.

Aang laughs as he places his hand over his head and looks to where Sokka landed. Then with his fingers he happily shouted, "Aang seven. Sokka zero."

"Making _him_ feel better is putting _me_ in a world of hurt." Sokka muttered as he picked himself up. Then he noticed something in the snow. Moving closer he saw a Fire Nation soldier's helmet, burnt and cracked as it lay in the snow. Turning his head he said, "Katara, Steve, check this out."

Both of them move to see what was up. They didn't like it one bit as Katara said, "Fire Nation."

"We should tell him." Sokka suggested. Steve and Katara looked at each other and thought the same thing; Aang wasn't going to be too happy about it, though they nodded that it would be best. Turning to the court, Katara called out, "Aang, there's something you need to see."

Aang came running up to them as he used his airbending on the ball and shouted, "Okay."

But as he got closer, Katara started to have second thoughts about. And at the last second, she used waterbending to pull snow down over the helmet. Sokka gasped as he was soon covered by it. He started brushing himself off when Aang reached them he asked, "What is it?"

Putting her hands behind her back she came up with an excuse as she lightly lied, "Uh… just a new waterbending move I learned."

"Nice one." Aang complimented. But he changed the subject by saying, "But enough practicing. We have a whole temple to see."

The young Airbender then ran off as he wanted to start the tour again. As Sokka finished dusting himself off he told her, "You know, you can't protect him forever."

"He has a point." Steve agreed. Both of them looked at him as he said, "What if he finds out on his own? What will you do then?"

She didn't say anything as she walked after Aang.

In another part of the temple, the four had come by an archway with a fountain in the path. Both Sokka and Steve stood in Katara's way as she came up the step's with the former saying, "Katara, Firebenders were here." The only thing she did was walk past them as he continued, "You can't pretend they weren't."

"I can for Aang's sake." Katara argued as she kept walking. Both two older warriors caught up with her as she said, "If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated."

"I understand where you're coming from Katara." Steve said as they kept moving. Both Water Tribe kids looked to him and said, "When I was brought out of the ice, S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to take it nice and slow to let me know that everything I knew was gone. But it doesn't always work out like that."

They didn't say much more about it as Aang called them, "Hey, guys!"

They looked up to see Aang next to a statue of a monk. Aang happily said, "I want you to meet somebody."

"Who's that?" Sokka asked. Aang turned to the statue as he happily said, "Monk Gyatso, the greatest Airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." Then, as if it were the real thing, Aang bowed to it as he started to remember something from his past.

(Flashback)

A long time ago, Monk Gyatso was giving Aang a lesson; through the form of cake. The day was a beautiful one as the sun was bright. The monk calmly said, "But the true secret is in the gooey center." He had pulled a cake out of the oven and used his airbending to make the top swirl.

"Hmm." A troubled Aang only muttered as he sat with one leg dangling on the ledge. As Monk Gyatso brought the cake to a ledge where three other cakes sat in a straight line, he said, "My ancient cake-making technique isn't the only thing on your mind, is it, Aang?" He placed the fourth cake next to the others before turning to his pupil.

"This whole Avatar thing." Aang said as he turned to face outwards. He sounded hopeful as he said, "Maybe the monks made a mistake."

"The only mistake they made was telling you before you turned sixteen." Monk Gyatso informed. Then he tried to comfort the boy by saying, "but we can't concern ourselves with what _was_. We must act on what _is_." The older monk pointed outwards to the rest of the temple to show Aang what he meant, to be in the moment. Aang looked to what he was talking about as the Airbenders and everything in their surroundings acted in the moment.

"But Gyatso, how do I know if I'm ready for this?" Aang genuinely asked. His teacher told him this, "Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to enter the Air Temple sanctuary." Gyatso turned towards the boy saying, "Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey."

This made Aang excited as he used his airbending to hop and turn himself fully towards his teacher. He then asks, "Who is it?"

"When you are ready, he will reveal himself to you." That was all Monk Gyatso said. This only made Aang groan in frustration, "Hm."

Changing the subject of the matter the monk asked, "Now…" Both looked to each other as Monk Gyatso continued, "are you going to help me with these cakes or not?"

With a smile, Aang said, "All right." Then he got up.

Soon standing next to his teacher, both Airbenders then took a stance as they turned ninety degrees and held their left arms up. Monk Gyatso started counting as they went through the motions, "One…" then leaning forward, they started collecting air between their hands as they swirled them and made an air sphere, "two," then thrusting the air spheres forward, "three." The air spheres made the cakes go flying high into the sky. The cakes flew to where four monks were meditating and crashed onto their heads one by one. It caused them to lose focus in their meditation, even causing the last monk to fall on his back. Then a group of lemurs came down and started to have some fun by either eating cake off the ground, off a monks head or jumping on the last monk's belly as he laid on his back, all they while squawking to themselves.

Both Aang and Monk Gyatso both laugh to this. Then turning to each other, they make a bow towards the other as the teacher praises his pupil, "Your aim has improved greatly, my young pupil." Then Monk Gyatso gently patted the boy's head.

(End Flashback)

Back in the present, Aang still bowed in respect for his mentor/father figure. Aang righted himself as Katara came and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then she said, "You must miss him."

"Yeah." Was all Aang said before walking past the statue. Curious, the Waterbender asked, "Where are you going?"

He responded as he climbed up the steps into the Air Temple, "The Air Temple sanctuary." Aang looked back as he felt ready, "There's someone I'm ready to meet."

Katara looked back to Sokka and Steve, with the former only shrugging his shoulders. Then the three of them followed after Aang.

Deep within the Air Temple, the four had arrived in a section with two giant wooden doors. As they came closer, Katara made another point about the Airbenders, "But Aang, no one could have survived in there for a hundred years."

Aang made a somewhat good point as he said, "It's not impossible." He then used himself as an example, "I survived in the iceberg for that long."

"Good point." Katara kind of agreed. But Steve made another point and said to Aang, "But how would they have survived with the lack of supplies? Don't you wonder about that?"

"I'm not sure." Aang said as they kept looking at the door, "But we won't know until we find out."

Steve sighed and said, "Alright then."

"Katara, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing." Aang said, changing the subject. Sokka then spoke up as he let hunger control his thoughts, "And whoever's in there might have medley of delicious cured meats." The thought of it made him rub his hands together.

Then acting on that thought, he ran right at the door thinking that he could just push it open. But he was proven wrong as he smacked face first into the door with a grunt of pain. The other three winced at this, but Sokka didn't give up just yet as he pressed his back against the door and tried to push it open again with a groan. But when it didn't budge, he slumped down on his butt and looked to Aang and asked, "I don't suppose you have a key?"

"The key, Sokka, is airbending." Aang simply said.

A moment later, after Sokka had stepped out of the way, Aang prepared himself by taking a deep breath. Standing tall, Aang then brought his arms up in a T-like fashion. Then bringing his hands close together, he stepped forward to send a blast of air towards the two tubes on the door. The air traveled through long curvy pipes, and when they reached the locks, a pipe would turn and made the locks spin and shoot out air. It did the same for the lock on the left, and then the air traveled down through the tube down to the final lock. As all three locks blew out the air the doors started to open when the middle tube shifted to a vertical position. The doors slowly rumbled open as light shone into the room in a long time. When they fully open, Aang put a hand up to his mouth and said, "Hello?" He started walking inside, "Anyone home?"

As he started disappearing into the darkness, his three friends followed after him. Soon all four were devoured by the darkness.

Back in Zhao's tent, the information had been given. Two Fire Nation soldiers stood behind the prince while the Winter Soldier stood behind a tea drinking General Iroh. Commander Zhao walked in front of Prince Zuko as he summed it up, "So, a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your Firebenders." He stopped in front of Iroh when he said, "You're more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated him once," Zuko defended himself, "but it will not happen again."

"No, it will not, because you won't have a second chance." Zhao firmly said. Prince Zuko, not believing what he was hearing, tried to reason with the officer, "Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I…"

"And you failed!" Commander Zhao interrupted with a fiery sweep of his hand. Discriminating the prince, the commander said, "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands." Deciding to take action he stated, "He's mine now."

With an angry yell, Prince Zuko started to lunge out of his chair, but was caught by Zhao's men. As the soldiers held Zuko, the Winter Soldier started to step forward, but Iroh raised a hand to stop him. Not fully understanding, he nonetheless did as he was told. Zhao then ordered the soldiers, "Keep them here."

The Winter Soldier narrowed his eyes while Prince Zuko angrily kicked the table with the tea pot on it. General Iroh then asked, "More tea, please?"

Both Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier looked to him with a raised eyebrow.

Back in the Southern Air Temple, the four soon found what was inside the Air Temple sanctuary. Standing in on a dark painted path that went in a swirl, were a great number of statues. As the four began to walk through the statues, Sokka walked up to one and asked in disbelief, "Statues? That's it?" Then he sounded distressed and cheated as he said, "Where's the meat?"

"Again, seriously? That's what's on your mind?" Steve asked as he walked past the Water Tribe teen.

Katara was truly curious as she asked, "Who are all these people?"

"I'm not sure," Aang honestly said looking down. When he looked back up at the statues he had a feeling, "but it feels like I know them somehow." Then he noticed something, "Look!" He pointed to one, "That one's an Airbender."

"And this one's a Waterbender." Katara said about the one next to it. Steve joined them and asked, "And I suppose that the one next to the Waterbender is an Earthbender?"

Both young Benders nodded as Katara then said, "They're lined up in a pattern-" Pointing to each of the statues she said, "air, water, earth and fire."

"That's the Avatar cycle." Aang realized. With a smile Katara fully understood, "Of course. They're Avatars." Looking around the chamber she said, "All these people are your past lives, Aang."

Both Steve and Aang were amazed by this as the latter said in wonder, "Wow, there's so many."

"Past lives?" Sokka said, not really believing it after she told him. Both Aang and Steve kept looking as the older teen said, "Katara, you really believe in that stuff?"

Aang had stopped one statue as she said, "It's true. When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."

Aang looked up into the statue's eyes, feeling lost as he continued to stare. This statue wore a Fire Nation robe and wore some sort of crown on the top of his head. A small light passed through the statue's eyes as they stare back. When he seemed out of it, Katara came and shook him by the shoulders and said, "Aang, snap out of it."

When he did, he felt like something had just happened, "Huh?"

"Who is that?" Katara asked about the statue. Aang was quick to answer, "That's Avatar Roku- the Avatar before me."

Both Steve and Sokka joined them as the latter said with his hands on his hips, "You were a Firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

"Yeah, that's why." Steve commented with an eye roll. Sokka turned to look at the super soldier. Katara looked at the feet of the statue and curiously said, "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"

"I'm not sure." Aang honestly answered. He had a smile as he had that feeling again, "I just know it somehow."

Sokka groaned before he said, "You just couldn't get any weirder."

Steve slapped him in the back of the head for being insecure. As the Water Tribe teen rubbed his head, a low-pitched sound came from the entrance, making all four stand at attention. They all looked back to the entrance and heard something coming through the doorway.

Quickly, hiding behind two statues at the front of the swirl, Katara and Aang behind one and Steve and Sokka behind the one next to it. Looking around the statue, Sokka then whispered, "Firebender. Nobody make a sound."

"You're making a sound!" Katara snapped in annoyance. This made the boys quickly shush her. As Aang and Katara kept to the shadow of the statue, Steve and Sokka readied themselves while the thing crept closer. With a determined look on his face, Sokka said, "That Firebender won't know what hit him."

Both he and Steve readied their weapons. Both warriors then stood up behind the statue. What ever was in the doorway made a low growling sound. Steve and Sokka jumped from behind the statue, but didn't attack when they saw what it actually was. Aang and Katara looked from behind their statue to see what it was too.

A little black and white lemur stood tall before crouching cautiously at them while making a chittering noise. A happy Aang shouted, "Lemur!"

"Dinner." Sokka said as his mouth started to salivate. The lemur stood up when it sensed potential danger. Aang tried to reassure the little thing by saying, "Don't listen to him. You're going to be my new pet."

"Not if I get him first!" Sokka exclaimed in hunger. Then both boys made a jump for the lemur with Sokka making a yelling noise. As they rushed the little creature it arched his back in fright before running through the temple with a screech as Sokka tripped and then Aang stepped on/over him. Aang called out to it, "Wait, come back!"

"I want to eat you!" Sokka shouted at the lemur. Both boys chased after the lemur. As Sokka caught up to him, he pushed the Airbender back as he took the lead. Then using his airbending, he quickly gained on Sokka again. Thinking fast, Sokka reached behind him and pulled out his club. With a light swing, he tried to use the club to trip Aang. But Aang jumped over the club and started to run alongside the wall, shocking Sokka. Aang chuckles as he starts to pull away. When he ran a little farther ahead, Aang jumped off the wall and then gathers some air into an air sphere and hurled it at Sokka, successfully tripping the Water Tribe teen. Sokka grunts as the air sphere sent him tumbling in the air and fell to the ground with his hood covering his head.

The lemur ran to a balcony and jumped on the railing. Looking back, it saw that Aang was still coming. The lemur made a chattering sound as it opened its wings and took flight away from the balcony.

Aang took a moment to see if Sokka was still coming, and when he saw that he was good and close, he jumped over the railing and fell downwards, all the while laughing. He landed on a rock and jumped off of it to the next one.

Sokka came to the balcony and shouted down, "Hey, no fair!"

Aang had a smile on his face as he continued to fall and use his airbending to slow his descent. The rushing wind caused his eyes to tear up.

Back at the Fire Nation harbor, Commander Zhao was returning to the tent where Prince Zuko, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier were housed. As he moved the flaps of the tent, the soldiers who guarded the inside removed their spears. Both Zuko and Iroh sat across from each other while the Winter Soldier stood beside the both of them. Zhao stepped inside and informed, "My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go."

"Why," Prince Zuko questioned as he looked to the commander, "Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?"

Commander Zhao only chuckled at this. Then he scoffed at this, "You… stop me? Impossible."

"Don't underestimate me, Zhao." Prince Zuko warned as he stood up. With a look of determination he said, "I will capture the Avatar before you."

"Prince Zuko, that's enough." Iroh said rising to his own feet. Even the Winter Soldier tried to calm the prince by placing a hand on his shoulder. But Prince Zuko shrugged it off.

"You can't compete with me." Commander Zhao said. He then pointed out his position and how it greatly surpasses the prince's, "I have hundreds of warships under my command. And you…" Commander Zhao then makes a personal jab toward the prince as he said, "you're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."

The Winter Soldier raised an eyebrow to this as the prince defended himself, "You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful my rightful place on the throne."

"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now-" Zhao said as he made another jab, "Avatar or no Avatar, but in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

"That's not true." Prince Zuko angrily argued. Commander Zhao made one final jab and said, "You have the scar to prove it."

Once again, the Winter Soldier grew curious to this. The jab seemed to work as Prince Zuko yelled, "Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?" Zhao questioned. Prince Zuko then made it official, "An agni kai, at sunset."

"Very well." Zhao said as they both looked ready to fight then and there. The commander then stood straight as he made another jab, "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you." He turned ninety degrees before saying, "I guess your uncle and the Winter Soldier will do."

And with that, the commander took his leave and left the tent. General Iroh was concerned for his nephew as he lightly questioned, "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened the last time you dueled the Master?"

"I will never forget." Prince Zuko said as he remembered that day. It made the Winter Soldier curious even more, but he didn't say anything.

Back at the Southern Air Temple, Aang was still chasing the lemur. At the bottom of some stairs, the lemur had stopped to sit down for a moment. He made its chittering sound as Aang dropped down behind. The lemur must have sensed him, because as Aang took a leap at it, the lemur was able to avoid him by jumping out of the way. The lemur ran into a building covered in some kind of cloth.

"Hey, come back." Aang called after. Following the lemur inside, he pushed back some of the cloth and said as he searched, "Come on out, little lemur. That hungry guy won't bother you anymore."

Aang came to another collection of cloth and pushed it aside to keep looking. But when he looked inside he gasped as he didn't like what he saw. All around the room, Firebender skeletons littered the floor, surrounding something at the other side of the room.

"Firebenders? They were here?" Aang asked in horror. He looked to what they were surrounding. It was an Airbender skeleton sitting against a pile of snow. Aang stepped more into the room and took a closer look at the skeleton. Looking around the deceased Airbender's neck he saw a familiar necklace. With sadness, a heartbroken Aang said, "Gyatso."

With a groan of sadness, the young Airbender fell to his knees and started to sob.

Sokka happened to have followed Aang the whole way and came into the building. Not knowing what was going on, he asked, "Hey, Aang, you find my dinner yet?"

Aang still cried as Sokka came closer. Feeling that he was being insecure, Sokka tried to make amends as he came forward, "Aang, I wasn't really going to eat the lemur. Okay?"

When he saw what Aang was really crying about, he took a step back and said, "Oh, man."

Feeling sorry for his friend, he tried to cheer Aang up. He placed a shoulder and said, "Come on, Aang, everything will be all right. Let's get out of here."

But Sokka's words were lost on him as Aang's grief turned into rage. His tattoo's started to glow, making Sokka gasp as he knew what that meant.

Back in the Air Temple sanctuary, Steve stood at the door waiting for their return while Katara walked back over to the statue of Avatar Roku. She looked up to the eyes when all of a sudden, they started to glow. Then one by one, the eyes of the other Avatar statues started glowing as well. This made Katara worried as she turned to Steve and said, "Aang!"

Then both of them ran out of the sanctuary.

Somewhere in an Earth Kingdom temple of sorts, a man meditating witnessed the eyes on a painting glow. It made him gasp in wonder.

In one of the Poles, the top of a temple started to glow. Two Water Tribesman witnessed it from a cliff.

In a temple somewhere in the Fire Nation, a bright red glow came from the top of the temple. Inside, a Fire Sage told another, "Send word to the Fire Lord immediately. The Avatar has returned!" This made the second Fire Sage gasp.

Back at the Southern Air Temple, in the building where Aang and Sokka were, the Airbender started to lose himself as the wind started to pick up and form a spear around him.

"Aang, come on! Snap out of it!" Sokka shouted as he braced himself. But Aang's air dome expanded and knocked Sokka off of his feet. He yelled as he was sent flying backwards. The roof of the building exploded from the power. Sokka flew to a pile of rubble with a grunt as he hit.

A tornado of air reached high into the sky as Aang's anger grew. Everything except Monk Gyatso's skeleton had been blown away from the blast. Sokka had just climbed over a stone and looked towards Aang right as Katara and Steve joined them. She asked, "What happened?"

"He found out Fire Benders killed Gyatso!" Sokka shouted to them. Both Steve and Katara were shocked by this. Katara then said, "Oh, no. It's his Avatar spirit. He must have triggered it. I'm going to try and calm him down."

"You might want to hurry!" Steve shouted as Katara started to struggle as she walked towards a disheartened Aang. Sokka was in full agreement and shouted as he and Steve tried to keep their grip on the stone, "Yeah, before he blows us off the mountain!"

Katara fought her way to Aang, but it became difficult as his air sphere started to rise in the air.

Sunset had come to the Fire Nation harbor. In an arena that stood between the tents and the ships, both Prince Zuko and Commander Zhao were preparing for the Agni Kai. The fighters had someone one their side; Zhao's side had four Fire Nation soldiers while Prince Zuko's had General Iroh and the Winter Soldier. From behind, the Winter Soldier held a weapon at his side.

Both fighters were on one knee, their right fist on the ground and had their eyes closed. Not to mention they were dressed in only pants, a ring on their left shoulder and a cloth on their back.

"Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko." Iroh reminded him. Like a good teacher he said, "They are your greatest weapons."

The Winter Soldier gave the prince thumbs up. With conviction he said, "I refuse to let him win."

The fighters stood up and turned to their opponent. The cloth on their backs fell to the ground. Zhao then thought it to be over soon as he said, "This will be over quickly."

From high on the wall over a Fire Nation insignia, a soldier hit the gong. The ringing echoed around the arena. The fighters took their firebending stances that mirrored the other's. Neither Zuko nor Zhao moved a muscle for a few moments. They just stared at the other, waiting to see who would strike first. Deciding to make the first move, Zuko started to summon flames as he circled his arms. As they went behind him, he brought his left fist forward and shot a blast of fire. Zhao side stepped the fire blast and it went past him. He moved the other way another fire ball came flying at him. From his side, Prince Zuko shot two more fire blasts. Zhao smirked as he stood still for one with his arms in an x stance. As the fire ball hit him, Zhao moved his arms in different directions to disperse it. Zhao smiled in satisfaction while Zuko panted from the exertion. Even more determined than ever, he then gave did a spin with a blazing high kick towards the commander. Zhao blocked the wave of fire before making it turn into two separating streams. He then pushed another incoming wave. Prince Zuko had a look ins his eye that was determined not to give Zhao any ground. He then did a high jump and with a low kick. Still smirking, the commander then summoned separate flames into his hands as he then kneeled to block the stream of fire. When it stopped, the commander stood tall as he went on the offensive. Zuko braced himself as his uncle shouted while the older man was clearly wrapped up in the foot, "Basics, Zuko. Break his root."

Taking a deep breath, Prince Zuko calmed himself as he kept his head clear in the fight. Zhao came in with a fire fist. It made Zuko give ground as he part the flames while jumping back. Zhao did it again with a stomp of his foot and used both fists to send a bigger blast of fire. Zuko struggled as he did the same as before and jumped back. Zhao did a third time, making Zuko jump again. One the fourth blast, Zhao sent a huge blast of fire. Zuko could barely hang on as he tried to block the blast but it made the prince fall down. He slid a few feet backwards. With a groan he tried to get up, and gasped when he saw the commander come down with a yell. Luckily for Zuko, Commander Zhao landed a few inches from him. Then with a spin of his fists, he started to summon a fire blast from his right hand. As the flame started coming at him, Prince Zuko spun on his back and when he came back around he knocked Zhao off his feet. **(Imagine it happening three times, and each time closer to the last.)**

Landing on both feet, Zuko smirked as he took the advantage. With a twist of his foot, Prince Zuko sent a wave of fire at Zhao. It made him stumble backwards. Zuko did it again and sent a bigger wave at his opponent. Zhao continued to stumble with a grunt from keeping back from the flames. Iroh smirked as Prince Zuko's training was coming to effect. No one could really tell it with his mouth guard on, but the Winter Soldier smirked from this turn of events. This time, Prince Zuko used a semi-high kick and sent a huge blast of fire. The commander continued stumbling while Zuko came closer and gave another kick of fire. This sent the older man falling and rolling on his side. As he stopped on his back, Zuko stood over him, ready to give another flow. Zhao groaned weakly as he looked up to the prince. Zuko had a look in his eye as he was about to. Zhao shouted, "Do it!"

Prince Zuko gave a thrust of fire and watched the smoke rise from the spot. But he didn't as the spot was close to Zhao's head. The commander then questioned, "That's it?" Zhao had a disappointed look on his face as he said, "Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I promise I won't hold back." Prince Zuko warned before turning to walk away. The prince continued to walk as Zhao rose to his feet. Then in a fit of anger and a yell, he used a high kick of fire at the Fire Nation teen. But it was stopped by a block from Iroh as the older man caught Zhao by the foot with the Winter Soldier standing at the ready with his weapon aimed at the commander. Iroh then pushed Zhao away, making the man slide on his back. Prince Zuko was about to retaliate when he was stopped by both the Winter Soldier and Iroh as his uncle said to his nephew, "No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory." As Zuko calmed down, both Iroh and the Winter Soldier released him as the former to turned to the fallen man and said, "So, this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat?" Zhao looked up to both of them as Iroh said in disappointment, "Disgraceful." Iroh then gave a point about Zuko, "Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you."

Prince Zuko felt touched as he looked to his uncle. General Iroh was polite as he said, "Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious."

Then all three walked out of the arena. Zhao watches them go as he sat up. As they left the arena, Zuko looked to his uncle and asked, "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite." Iroh said, though he knew what Zuko actually meant. Zuko only smiled at his uncle's antics as they walked back to the ship.

The Winter Soldier; however, was starting to slip out of his programming as questions started to plague his mind about this world.

Back at the Southern Air Temple, a distressed and glowing Aang was still high in the air as Katara tried to calm him down while she and the other two boys hung on to the stone, "Aang, I know you're upset, and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love." She remembered a day that still makes her sad as she said, "I went through the same thing when I lost my mom." Whether he heard her or not, Aang still created the twister of air as she tried to prove another point as Sokka and Steve moved to stand beside her, "Monk Gyatso and the other Airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family." She then said about them, "Sokka, Steve and I- we're your family now."

It seemed to work as Aang's air sphere started to lower itself. The winds died down and the three were able to stand as Aang still came down. When Aang touched down on the ground, all three came up behind him and Sokka smiled as he said, "Katara, Steve and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise."

Katara took a hold of Aang's hand right when it stopped glowing. The rest of him stopped glowing and he fell down with a sigh. Both he and Katara sat on the ground as he apologized, "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry about anything." Steve told him as he kneeled down beside him. Katara was in full agreement, "He's right. It's okay." She understood and said, "It wasn't your fault."

"But you were right." Aang said, now realizing that what she said earlier was true, "And if Firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too." He looked truly heart broken as he said, "I really am the last Airbender."

Katara wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight in sympathy. Both Sokka and Steve placed a hand on his shoulder as they stood there.

A little later, back in the Air Temple Sanctuary, Aang was looking at the statue of Avatar Roku again. Katara came up behind him and said, "Everything's packed. You ready to go?"

But traveling was the last thing on Aang's mind as he looked to the statue and asked, "How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?"

"Maybe you'll find a way." Katara told him. The low humming sound came at the entrance again. Both benders looked to the door and saw the same little lemur from before, and it was holding something. Hopping over to Sokka, the lemur drops a few fruits on the ground for him. Hunger taking over again, Sokka sat down and started chomping down on them.

Smiling, Aang said, "Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka."

Sokka was too busy eating as he said with his mouth full, "Can't talk… must eat."

The lemur chittered as it ran up Aang and stopped his shoulders and hiding behind the Airbenders head with caution, surprising the young Avatar. Looking up the big eared creature with a smile he said, "Hey, little guy."

Later when they were back at the landing spot where Appa was, the bison, Aang and the lemur all looked to the Air Temple as he said, "You, me and Appa- we're all that's left of this place." Looking to the lemur he said, "We have to stick together."

Then looking to his friends he said, "Katara, Sokka, Steve, say hello to the newest member of our family."

The three were packing up the rest of the supplies as Sokka continued to eat. Aang came closer with the lemur on his shoulder as the three turned. Katara then asked, "What are you going to name him?"

The lemur made its chittering noise before leaping off of Aang's and grabbing the piece of fruit from Sokka. It returned to Aang's shoulder and started eating. That's when Aang came up with the perfect name, "Momo."

A disbelieving Sokka still had his hand up to his mouth as it turned out he was about eat it. The other three started laughing at his misfortune as his face turned from shock to annoyed.

Later that evening, the group rode away on Appa. Aang and Momo continued to look back at their home once more as it shrunk in the distance. Momo made a small cooing noise as the clouds started to hide the Southern Air Temple from view.

On board Prince Zuko's ship as it departed from the harbor, in his own personal quarters, the Winter Soldier felt as if his mind was starting to see through the fog that Hydra put it under. Slowly, he lifted his hands up to the mouth guard and then slowly removed it. Looking to the farthest wall, he uttered a single word, "Why?"

Author's Note: Boy, that took a little while to write. The hardest part to write was probably the fight scene between Prince Zuko and Commander Zhao. Chapter three is probably the saddest episode in Book 1. Be on the lookout as in the next chapter, another Avenger joins the group. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	4. Chapter Four: The Warriors of Kyoshi

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Aang showed them a map and said about one of the spots, "And here we'll ride on the back of giant koi fish._

 _Steve looked to them and said, "My friends are lost somewhere on your world."_

 _The group look at a room full of statues of previous Avatar's._

 _The Winter Soldier removed his mouth guard and asked, "Why?"_

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Four: The Warriors of Kyoshi and the Black Widow**

A new day was starting to dawn as Prince Zuko's ship sailed through open ocean at high speeds. In his room, the aforementioned prince was sitting in front of a table with four candles. Each time Zuko took a breath, the candles would grow and shrink with each breath. He kept taking slow and steady breaths as he breathed in and out. His door opened and Iroh stepped in, bringing the boy out of his meditation. Prince Zuko said, "The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar."

"Well, there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it." General Iroh said with a bit of worry. Then he warned, "Don't get too upset."

Trying to prove his uncle that he could handle it, he said, "Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now, whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

"Okay, then." Iroh said, not going to beat around the bush and just came out with it, "We have no idea where he is."

Prince Zuko didn't have level head that he said he had as the candles burst with flame and he angrily questioned, "What?!"

Standing up, he turned to his uncle as the older man took out a fan and started to fan himself while saying, "You really should open a window in here."

"Give me the map!" Zuko snapped as he snatched the scroll from his uncle. Unrolling it, he looked at the possible sightings. Iroh then told him, "Uh, there have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down."

"How am I gonna find him, Uncle?" Zuko questioned. The map itself looked to be from one place to another as Zuko said, "He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering."

Elsewhere, on a similar yet less tracked map, the group of four where just flying to where ever Aang had them going. Holding the map, Sokka questioned the Airbender, "You have no idea where you're going, do you?"

"Well, I know it's near water." Aang said as they flew over the open ocean. Being sarcastic, Sokka said, "I guess we're getting close, then."

As Aang was at the reigns and Sokka on the map, Steve was busy taking care of his shield while Katara was sewing up Sokka's pants. Looking up to Katara as she sewed, Aang turned to Momo and politely asked, "Momo, marbles, please."

Chattering to the boy, the lemur then dived into Aang's shirt and squirmed around. When Momo came back out, he handed the marbles to Aang. With a look of excitement he said, "Hey, Katara, check out this airbending trick."

With a smile, Aang used his airbending to make the marbles spin really fast in a circle. But Katara was to focused on her sewing at the moment when she said, "That's great, Aang."

"You didn't even look." Aang complained as he stopped the trick. She turned to look and said again, "That's great."

"But I'm not doing it now." Aang said as he lowered his hands. Sokka made a dismissive wave of his hand as he said, "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

"Oh, boy." Steve said from the side as he closed his eyes. Katara was offended by this and questioned, "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"

"Simple-" Sokka explained as he laid against the back of the saddle, "girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."

Steve sighed up to the sky as Sokka's explanation made Katara even more angry. She put on a fake smile and sarcastically said, "All done with your pants. And look what a great job I did!" Then she threw the pants in her brother's face.

Trying to fix it he quickly said as he removed the trousers from his head, "Wait! I was just kidding. I can't wear these! Katara, please!" He stuck a hand through the hole to show her how much he needed her.

"Relax, Sokka." Aang called from the front. He then happily said, "Where we're going, you won't need any pants."

Then with a pull of the reigns, he guided Appa to the left as the bison bellowed.

Soon, the group landed on an island with a huge cove. As they got off of Appa, Sokka then pointed out with a complaint, "We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we a get a little more flying done before we camp out?"

"He's right- at this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring." Katara pointed out as Aang looked out to the water. But Aang quickly came up with an excuse, "But Appa's tired already." He turned to the bison and asked, "Aren't you boy?" The bison only gave a small grunt, so Aang nudged his leg and asked again, "I said, aren't you boy?" This time, Appa gave a small roar. Aang looked to the others and pointed at the bison as if he were yawning. Sokka then sarcastically said, "Yeah, that was _real_ convincing. Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."

"Something tells me that something else is going on." Steve said as he walked up to Aang. Looking down at the young Airbender he said, "If I remember correctly, you pointed to a spot on the map. This is it, isn't it?"

Aang sheepishly shrugged as he had been found out. He grew excitedly as he saw something in the water and ran closer to the edge of the shore. Pointing, he shouted, "Look!"

Steve, Sokka, Katara and Momo all joined him as a giant fish jumped out of the water near the end of the cove. To say that they were amazed would be an understatement. Aang then said, "That's why we're here." He dropped his pants as he said, "Elephant koi! And I'm gonna ride them." Turning around as he took off his shirt he said, "Katara, you've got to watch me." Soon he was in nothing but his underpants.

Running up to the water, Aang dived in with a big splash. Then he comically jumped out for a split-second and yelled, "Cold!"

Back on the shore, right as Appa started walking off behind them, the three looked to one another. Sokka then put a hand up to his head and made a swirling motion as if to say that Aang was crazy.

Aang continued to swim out in the cove. Then submerging, he came back up to the surface on the back of a giant fish. He was riding on the back fin as it jumped in the water.

On the shore, Katara and Steve watched as smiles grew on their faces while Sokka just stood there with his arms crossed and a bored and humorless expression on his face. They continued to watch as the elephant koi with Aang on its back came up and then dived again. He looked to the shore, and waved while he laughed. Katara gives a whoop as she and Steve wave back. Still laughing as more elephant koi joined them, Aang shouted, "Yeah! Whoo-whoo!"

His elephant koi and the other two dived deep underwater.

Back on the shore, Katara turned to Sokka and said, "He looks pretty good out there."

"Are you kidding?" Sokka questioned. Katara's face fell when he said, "The fish is doing all the work."

Momo chattered as he jumped up and down watching Aang. Katara heard something from behind and looked to find Appa doing something that he shouldn't have been. Leaving Steve, Sokka and Momo to watch Aang, she ran to the bison and shouted, "NO, Appa! Don't eat that!"

When his elephant koi returned to the surface, Aang looked to the shore with a huge grin plastered on his face. Then he noticed that Katara was running to something. Feeling disappointed by it, he looked down and said, "Aw, man!"

As his and the koi behind him on his left parted, the remaining elephant koi was soon chased by something. Both Sokka and Steve noticed it as the former yelled in alarm, "There's something in the water!"

The poor elephant koi made an attempt to jump out of the water, but it was caught by the tail and pulled under. Aang was oblivious as the second koi was taken too.

Katara rejoined them when she heard her brother. Momo started jumping up and down while she then quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Aang's in trouble." Sokka said. Steve then said, "Let's hurry and get him back." Turning to the water he shouted, "Aang!"

"Get out of there!" Katara shouted.

Aang looked to the shore and saw his friends, but didn't understand as they started waving toward him. Nor did he hear them shout, "Get back here, Aang! Come in! Hurry!"

As he started waving back, his elephant koi was yanked underwater, thus sending him flying through the air with a yell. He landed back in the drink with a big splash. He came back up gasping for air as a giant sail emerged from the water. As he noticed the huge shadow, he turned and saw the sail. He screamed at the top of his lungs. Then somewhat jumping out of the water, he started running back to the shore. He ran like crazy as the creature stayed on his tail. Aang continued to run at full speed, but the creature was in its element as it started to gain. On the shore Momo's fur was standing on end as they waited to catch. Sokka yelled as Aang barreled into him with a grunt. The creature's sail sank back into the water now that its prey was gone. Both Katara and Steve ran up to the boys as Sokka had his back against the tree and Aang was starting to redress himself.

Katara then asked, "What was that thing?"

"I don't know." Aang said, now that he had his pants back on he worked on his shirt. Sokka then stood on his feet and dusted his hands off while saying, "Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road."

But before any of them could do anything, four warriors jumped down from the tree and ambushed them. Sokka gasped as one grabbed him from behind. Katara took up a fighting stance, but one of the warriors pulled her forward and her hood over head to blind her. A third grabbed Aang by the shoulders and pulled him forward with a yell. Momo tried to fly away, but another warrior put him in a sack. Steve made it more difficult for them as he flinched from a grab, but it left him open to a sneak attack from behind as one of the warriors put him in a full nelson and the warrior in front sucker punched him in the jaw twice. With the Cap disoriented they quickly bound his hands in rope and blind folded him. Then one by one, the warriors dropped them on the ground with a grunt from all five of them. Sokka then changed his mind, " _Or_ we could stay a while."

The warriors had guided the captured group somewhere and then tied them to something. They remained blindfolded as someone, an older male, started to speak to them, "You four have some explaining to do."

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi." A new and feminine voice added. Trying to sound very brave, Sokka shouted, "Show yourselves, cowards!"

Their blindfolds were removed, revealing five women dressed in green and black robes. One of them was holding Steve's shield to their side. This confused Sokka as he questioned, "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"Not to mention, making a good punch to the jaw." Steve commented. The leader of the warriors then said, "There were no men. We ambushed you. Now, tell us, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Wait a second," Sokka said disbelieving. Then he put on a humored smile as he thought impossible when he said, "there's no way a bunch of girls took us down."

"Yeah, good idea Sokka. Make fun of the girls that kicked our butts." Steve said as annoyed vein appeared on his forehead. The leader proved his point by grabbing the collar of Sokka's overcoat and saying, "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight."

"No! Don't hurt him! He didn't mean it." Katara pleaded. Then she tried to make it sound like that he could be that way, "My brother's just an idiot sometimes."

Both the female warrior and Sokka looked to each other for a moment. Then everyone's attention was drawn to Aang when he said, "It's my fault. I'm sorry we came here." He then told them the reason they came to the island, "I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" The older man questioned as he pointed an accusing finger. He explained a little about the island, "Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far, and we intend to keep it that way."

The name sounds very familiar to Aang as he excitedly said, "This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!"

"Ha!" The older man scoffed and then questioned, "How could you possibly know her?" The four looked up to the statue as he said, "Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

Aang looked down as he thought about how to say this, but smiled and looked at him and said, "I know her because I'm the Avatar."

The was a mixture of shock and disbelief from the crowd as the leader of the female warriors said with a raised fist, "That's impossible. The last Avatar was an Airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."

"That's me!" Aang proudly said. Steve then said, "He really is telling the truth."

But none of them were buying it as the chief of the village pointed at the group and ordered, "Throw the imposter to the Unagi!"

But before the warriors could do anything, a commotion happened at the back of the crowd. Aang's group, the warriors of Kyoshi and the chief of the village turn to see a woman with red hair and in a black body suit making her way through the crowd. Steve instantly recognized her and shouted, "Natasha Romanoff?!"

The woman took a closer look and said in joy and relief, "Steve Rogers?!" before running forward. She didn't get far as the chief stopped her with his hand and said, "I am sorry, my friend, but we found them lurking around the cove. And though you may not like it," He looked Nat in the eye as he said, "I must protect my village."

Natasha didn't say anything as the warriors of Kyoshi resumed their task and took out two fans from their side. Opening them, he they held them in a backwards 'L' style as they came closer. As they came closer, Katara suggested in a low voice, "Aang, do some airbending."

Taking the hint, Aang used his airbending to do a high jump, thus breaking the ropes around his wrists. The air he used caused everyone close to cover their faces from the dust. Then as he came up to the outstretched fan of the Kyoshi statue, the ropes broke from it as he did a flip. Then as he came down, he used his airbending to slow his descent. Everyone gasped as they saw that he was telling the truth. They were truly amazed as some of the villagers shouted, "Wow! That's amazing! Did you see that?!"

He touched down as the chief said, "It's true! You _are_ the Avatar."

"Now, check _this_ out!" Aang said with his eyebrows arched and a smirk. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the marbles. Then doing the trick again, he started to use his airbending to make them go in a fast spinning circle as he gave the crowd a large and goofy looking-smile.

Everyone started cheering, but there was one in the crowd who started to cheer hysterically, but as he became over excited his mouth started to foam and then the man fainted to the ground with a thud.

Natasha looked to Steve and pointed at Aang and what he was doing. Cap offered her a half-smile and then shrugged his shoulders. She smiled back as she and the other warriors of Kyoshi started to help untie the three.

The news of Aang's arrival on the island began to spread. A little village girl ran to a fisherman as he picked up his catch. When she reached him she said, "Did you hear the news? The Avatar is on Kyoshi!"

The news seemed big to him as he dropped the catch of fish with a, "Huh?"

Then quickly picking it up, the fisherman started to take it away.

In a market somewhere, the fisherman gave his catch to a shop owner. As the handed the net to him, the fisherman told the shop owner that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.

At a market, the shop owner handed a single fish to a man. As he handed the fish to the man, he told him that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.

It would turn out that the man who bought the single fish was a crewman of Prince Zuko. As the crewman served the fish to both Prince Zuko and Iroh he told him that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island. The Prince couldn't believe his ears as he stood up and said, "The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island?!"

Turning to Iroh he said, "Uncle, ready the rhinos and tell the Winter Soldier." He left the room as he went to prepare, "He's not getting away from me this time."

"Are you going to finish that?" Iroh asked and pointed to the fish, clearly more worried about eating at the moment. Prince Zuko came back and picked up the plate while saying in aggravation, "I was going to save it for later!"

As he took the steaming fish away, Iroh just sat there with his arms crossed and pouted.

In another part of Prince Zuko's ship, the Winter Soldier was going through the motions of a training exercise. At the moment, the assassin of hydra lacked his mouth guard and his over shirt and any of his weapons. Running towards a training dummy, he jumped high and then kicked with his foot straight out. When the foot connected with the dummy's head, it knocked the training utensil's appendage clean off. He landed on the floor as the rest of the body fell to the ground and the head rolled to a pair of feet. Standing up and turning his head, the Winter Soldier saw General Iroh standing there. Fully turning around the Winter Soldier made a bow to him.

General Iroh then waved him off and said, "Oh, come now. There is no need for that."

The Winter Soldier then stood at attention as Iroh told him, "Prince Zuko wishes for you to prepare yourself. The Avatar has been located and we are heading to his location."

The Winter Soldier nodded in confirmation. Iroh raised an eyebrow and asked, "You don't seem to do much talking, do you?"

The assassin still said nothing. Iroh didn't know what to do as the room was filled with an awkward silence.

His task done, General Iroh then left the room. Moving to where he mouth guard was, he picked it up and placed it on his face. Then reaching down he picked up his machine gun. Taking a quick moment, he looked down the sight before putting the weapon against his side.

The next day on Kyoshi Island, things were starting to change for the better with the Avatar's arrival. A painter had started the restoration of the Kyoshi statue as he started to work on the second eyebrow. Another villager used a brush to paint the back. Two villagers were making Appa happy as the bison laid on his right side, one was polishing his left horn and the other was brushing the fur on his left foreleg while ate some grass.

In the biggest building in the village, Aang, Sokka, Katara and the recently reunited Steve and Natasha were being served breakfast. Aang, Steve, Natasha and Katara looked down at the food as Aang shouted with joy, "All right! Dessert for breakfast!"

Each of them started to pick something up from the table. Aang felt really special as he said with his mouth full, "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar."

He found what he had really good as he handed one to Katara and said, "Mmm! Katara, you've got to try these."

"Well, maybe just a bit." She said and took it. Momo squawked as he took the other from Aang's hand. Aang didn't mind a he took another in his hand. Steve and Nat didn't say anything as they ate what they had. Aang noticed that one member of the party wasn't eating and shouted, "Sokka! What's your problem? Eat!"

The Water Tribe teen was just sitting in the corner sulking and said, "Not hungry?"

"Bu you're always hungry." Aang commented in confusion. Katara smiled as she said, "He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka argued in his defense. His sister still had a smile on her face as she turned to him and said, "Right. And _then_ they kicked your butt."

This made both Steve and Natasha chuckle to themselves as Sokka became more irritated, "Sneak attacks don't count." He started to walk out of the room grumbling, "Tie me up in ropes. I'll show them a thing or two."

The four sitting at the table watch as he came back still ranting, "I'm not scared of any girls." The Water Tribe teen then grabbed a few pastries while saying, "Who do they think they are, anyway?" He placed one in his mouth and then said while walking back out, "Mmm, this is tasty."

"What's he so angry about?" Aang questioned. Natasha just shrugged her shoulders before saying, "Who knows, young arrowhead, who knows?"

Aang wasn't affected by the nickname by much, but was more excited as he asked her, "So how long have you been on Kyoshi?"

"Maybe a day or two after we arrived here." She said as she picked up another pastry. Steve was equally curious as he said, "What do you mean a day or two after we arrived here? Were you lost at sea?"

The spy had her mouth somewhat full as she said, "Sort of, I landed in the ocean about maybe a mile or two from the island. I tried to keep myself afloat by swimming, but something came under my feet and pulled me towards the island." She looked down at the table as she said, "I'm not sure what it was, but I think it wanted me to come here."

"I don't know either, but I'm glad it did." Steve said to her with a smile. She smiled back and then asked, "I doubt that you've seen or heard anything on the others, huh?"

Cap sighed as he said, "I'm afraid to say that I haven't." But with hope in his voice he said, "But I know we'll find them."

"Always hope with you." Natasha said. She shrugged her shoulders and then said, "Still, I didn't make any moves to go searching just yet. And I gotta say, that this place is most relaxing."

"Yeah, it's great here-" Aang said. He made his point by saying, "they're giving us the royal treatment."

"Hey, don't get too comfortable." Katara warned him. She made a very good point as she said, "It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long."

Aang saw her point, but while Momo reached up on the table for another treat shrugged it off by saying, "I'm sure we'll be fine." He put a pastry in Momo's hand before standing to look towards the statue, "Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town? They're even cleaning up that statue in my honor."

"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar." Katara said. Nat looked to Steve and he mouthed long-story-I'll-tell-you-later. Katara then expressed a little worry as she said, "I just hope it doesn't all go to your head."

Aang kept it cool as he said, "Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk."

"I bet you by the end of the day, that he's ego will make him do something stupid." Nat whispered to Steve. Steve only sighed as she knew that she was probably right. Though Aang heard what she said, he didn't let it affect him as he stood up and looked out the window. The sound of screaming girls caused both heroes to jump as Aang looked down to the ground. One of the girls shouted, "There he is!"

From behind Aang as he blushed from his fans, Katara had a deadpanned look before sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry. Steve and Natasha look to each other with worry.

Aang seemed to enjoy spending the day with the fangirls as they screamed while chasing him over an arched red bridge. A few moments later, the girls chased him over it again. One the third pass, Aang stopped in the middle as two teams of girls came up from both sides. Quickly acting, Aang jumped high into the air. The girls came to the middle and were disappointed when he was out of reach, but their faces brightened as it turned out that Aang was using an air sphere to keep him in the air. When it vanished, the young Avatar fell back down to Earth and into the girls' arms.

A little later, Aang stood with one of the girls before a painter at a waterfall. The painter held his brush as he prepared himself, "Mm, painting the Avatar. That's easy enough." As he started to paint, he lowered the canvas and found another girl on his other side and said, "Oh, there's another one. Well, we have to have and adjustment here and…" Lowering the canvas he sees more girls next to him and Natasha standing behind Aang, "There's more and miss Natasha." As he keeps painting he started the part on Aang, and when he lowered the canvas a third time, he finds even more girls there but Natasha was gone. The painter gives them a deadpanned look as a drop of paint falls on the canvas. The girls started to giggle as the group started swaying. The artist gets up and walks away right as the group falls forward and lands with a grunt.

Aang then started to show off to six of the girls when they got back to the village. With Momo on his back he started doing some pushups. Steve came from behind one of the buildings and saw the commotion. As he came closer he saw that Aang had started to using only one hand. After a few more push ups Aang started using his airbending to keep his face off the ground. The girls watch in amazement as Steve sighed and walked away right as Katara walked by with a basket and did an eye roll.

In another part of the village, Sokka walked up to the Kyoshi Warriors' training dojo. He muttered as he walked up to the building, "I can't believe I got beat up by a bunch of girls!"

Inside the dojo, the Kyoshi Warriors had just made a practice swipe with a fan in their left hand. Sokka just so happened to peak through the door as the girls took a new stance. Being sarcastic and insecure from what happened, Sokka walked in and interrupted the lesson by saying, "Sorry, ladies, didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson." The warriors stopped as he did a few stretches as he said, "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout."

"Well, you're in the right place." The leader said. Then she tried to make amends by saying, "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."

"It's all right." Sokka said while still doing a few stretches. Then he cockily said, "I mean, normally, I'd hold a grudge but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

The leader caught on to his bravado and said in a fake sense of weakness, "I should hope so. A big, strong man like you. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"True, but don't feel bad." Sokka said as he rolled his head on his shoulders. He kept up his smugness as he said while crossing his arms, "After all, I'm the best warrior in my village."

"Wow! Best warrior, huh?" The leader said in fake amazement. Then she decided to do something to throw him off, "Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration."

This caught Sokka off guard as he then said, "Oh. Well, I mean, I…"

"Come on, girls, wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" She asked the others, trying to get them on the act. The other five chuckled and nodded in agreement as they caught on to their leaders plan. They continued to chuckle until a new voice said, "Who's going to be showing you some moves."

All seven of them looked to the door as Natasha Romanoff walked through with a hand on her hip. She looked to the Kyoshi warrior and said, "What's going on Suki?"

"Oh, nothing much really." Suki said with her arms crossed. She turned her head to Sokka and said in fake amazement, "It's just that our big, strong man here was just going to show us some moves."

Nat looked at Sokka before looking to the girls and then she figured it out. She said to the Water Tribe teen, "Okay, then ponytail, show us what you got."

He chose to ignore the insulting nickname for the moment he turned to Suki and said while smiling, "Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to."

Then placing his hands on Suki's shoulders he instructed, "All right, you stand over there." Then he backed up while saying, "Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me." Sokka readied his right fist as he took a stance, and when he tried to punch her, she used her fan to jab him in the shoulder. The jab makes Sokka scream, "Aah!"

Sokka gave a nervous chuckle as he stumbled back. Then he kept up his tough guy act while holding his shoulder and said, "Good. Of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course." Suki said to get under his skin. Feeling aggravated by this he said, "Let's see if you can handle this!" He tried to use a kick on her, but she went underneath as his foot went over. Then using her right elbow she sent Sokka flying through the air. He lands on his back with a grunt. Looking up at her, Sokka felt really angered by it and shouted, "That does it!"

Getting up he ran and tried to take a swing at her, but she caught his outstretched right arm. From there she starts to spin a screaming Sokka around one way before making him spin the other way. Sokka continued yelling as Suki held his arm up, and the Nat started to get in on it by removing his belt. As Suki tipped Sokka over, Natasha wrapped the belt around his left arm and right foot.

They let him go and he starts hopping, gasping through the dojo before falling to the ground with a grunt. Suki and Natasha walked up behind him as the former asked, "Anything else you want to teach us?"

While Natasha and the other girls laughed, Sokka started to blush from the embarrassment.

Back in the main part of the village, in front of the fully restored statue, Aang said, "There she is, girls. Me in a past life."

One of the girls held an unconscious Momo as the other girls started to ooh in amazement as one commented, "You were pretty."

Turning his head, he Katara walking by with the basket in her hands. Turning to his fans for a moment he said, "Excuse me for a second, ladies."

He quickly joined Katara at stand as she put some of the stuff in the basket and tapped her shoulder to get her attention. When she turned and saw that it was Aang she said, "Oh, good. Can you help me carry this back to the room?" She picked it up and said, "It's a little heavy."

"Actually, I can't right now." Aang said with his hands behind his back. Katara's face fell as she asked, "What do you mean you can't?"

Aang put his hands out to calm her down and explained, "I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa." Then he tried inviting her, "Why don't you come with us? It'll be fun."

"Watching you show off for a bunch of girls doesn't sound like fun." Katara said as she started to fill the basket again. Aang then said, "Well, neither does carrying your basket."

"It's not _my_ basket." Katara told him. She pointed it out to him, "These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon."

"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet." Aang whined. He then put a hand up to his chin as he said, "I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about this place."

The group of little girls started giggling from behind. One of the girls grew impatient as she stamped her foot and demanded, "What's taking you so long, Aangie?!"

"'Angie'?" Katara asked in disbelief. Aang waved back to them and shouted, "Just a second Koko!"

"Simple monk, huh?" Katara questioned. She remembered what Aang said this morning and threw back in his face, "I thought you promised me this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head?"

"It didn't." Aang said in a somewhat smart alek-type fashion. He then thought about how she acted and said, "You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?!" She questioned. Aang made it sound as if it were true, "Jealous that we're having so much fun without you."

"That's ridiculous." Katara said as she angrily started picking up food and putting it in the basket. His ego made him say, "It is a little ridiculous, but I understand."

Katara groaned in annoyance as she picked up the basket and started to walk away. From behind, three giggling girls pulled Aang along.

As Katara made her way back to the room, she had her head down and didn't see where she was going and bumped into someone. She looked up to see that she had bumped into Steve. She offered a quick apology, "Oh, I'm sorry Steve. I was a little distracted."

"It's okay." Steve said. He noticed that Katara had a look on her face and asked, "What's wrong?"

Katara sighed and said, "It's Aang. He's gone and done what he said he wouldn't and let all this Avatar stuff go to his head."

"I'm sure he'll come out of it." He reassured her. Katara smiled up at him and then continued to the room. Steve followed close behind as he looked to the dragged Aang.

Sokka, stood outside the Kyoshi Warrior's dojo, thinking about how he had treated them. With a kick to a rock, he then turned towards the building.

As Suki demonstrated to eight of the warrior's, Natasha stood beside the door as Sokka walked right in. He said, "Uh, hey, Suki."

The girls relaxed themselves as Suki questioned, "Hoping for another dance lesson?"

"No, I… well…" Sokka tried to explain himself. Suki was a little hostile when she questioned, "Spit it out. What do you want?"

Both Sokka and Nat were a little surprised at this, but Sokka became sincere as he dropped to his knees and said, "I would be honored if you would teach me."

"Even if I'm a girl?" Suki asked with her arms crossed, still sore about Sokka's comments. Though he didn't look her in the eye, he remembered how he made them feel as he sounded apologetic when he said, "I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong."

Suki didn't look to be feeling it as she said, "We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys. Though we did try once with an outsider." Both her and Sokka looked over to Natasha who only shrugged and then said, "It just wasn't my thing."

Sokka turned towards Suki and pleaded, "Please make an exception. I won't let you down." He bowed to her in a sign of respect.

Natasha had a pretty good feeling to where this was going as Suki said, "All right. But you have to follow all of our traditions."

"Of course." Sokka said sincerely. Nat tried to keep it in as she knew was right about where this was going. Suki smirked as she said, "And I mean _all_ of them."

(Twenty minutes later…)

Sokka soon wished he hadn't agreed to all of the traditions as he was put into a Kyoshi Warriors uniform. Natasha had her back turned them to keep herself from laughing. He couldn't believe that he was wearing a dress. Sokka lightly made the commented, "Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little… girly." His arms drooped from the humiliation.

"It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud." She told him. Suki then explained, "The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

It changes Sokka's perspective of the uniform as he stood tall and said, "Bravery and honor."

His humiliation came back when Aang stuck his head through the door and said, "Hey, Sokka. Nice dress."

Aang ran off as Sokka slumped his shoulders. From her corner, Natasha placed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

Aang slowly made his way back to the room.

In the room, Steve observed Katara as she practiced her waterbending. The young Waterbender gently pushed and pulled at the water. As it went back and forth, the water made a gentle sloshing sound. She had just made the water stand tall in the bowl as Aang walked in. Steve noticed that Aang had a smile on his face and his hands.

He closed his eyes as he mentally said, _This probably won't go well._

Steve was right as Aang started, "Katara, Steve, remember how the Unagi almost got me yesterday?"

"Yeah." Katara said with a roll of her eyes as she knew where this was going. Aang kept up the act by saying, "Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be really dangerous."

"Good for you." Katara emotionlessly said not looking away from the bowl of water. This surprised both Steve and Aang as the latter said, "You're not gonna stop me?"

"Nope. Have fun." Katara said as she continued practicing by making the tower of water weave from side to side. Aang countered as he was still going to do it, "I will."

"Great." She said as they got into a small fight with words.

"I know it's great." He shot back.

"Oh, I'm glad you know." She said not breaking her concentration.

"I'm glad you're glad." Aang said, now becoming annoyed by her lack of caring.

"Good!" She shouted, now letting the water go back down into the bowl.

"Fine!" Aang shouted before storming out. But before he left, he looked back with a sad expression on his face. As he walked out of the room, Katara lightly crossed her arms and sent a worried glance his way. Steve then said, "I know that what he's been doing is frustrating you, but it doesn't hurt to still show that you care."

Katara looked down to the bowl as she pondered his words. With a sigh, Steve stood up and said, "I'll go and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

Katara just watched as he walked out of the room with helmet and shield in tow.

Back in the Kyoshi Warrior's dojo, Sokka was practicing a move with a fan under the guidance of Suki. Natasha was watching to as willed herself not to laugh. As he held the fan open and turned with it held high, Suki observed and then said, " You're not gonna master it in one day." She was humble enough to say, "Even _I'm_ not that good."

But it didn't discourage him as he said, "I think I'm starting to get it." And took a pose that had one leg up and stretched. Then slowly he went through the motions by waving the fan in front and back as he started to back step. Then holding it high he brought it down, around his back and did a small hop. Arching his torso with the fan over his head, then he brought it down and closed the fan. Then with all his strength he threw it with a grunt. The closed fan went sailing out the door and hit the side of a tree. The impact loosened some snow and it fell off the branches as the fan fell with it.

Suki and Natasha looked out the door before the former turned to him and said, "It's not about strength."

Sokka rubbed the back of his head as Suki came forward to help him understand. She said, "Our technique is about using your opponent's force against them. Loosen up." She took one of her fans out to demonstrate, "Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." They both prepared themselves as she said, "Wait for an opening, and then…" She rushed him, but he was ready and as she passed him, he was able to avoid the fan and push her down to the ground. She landed with a grunt. All three were surprised, and then Sokka crossed his arms as he felt better with a "Hm."

Suki was a little irritated as he thought she was going on him. She got up and said, "I fell on purpose to make you feel better."

"I got you!" Sokka exclaimed as he pointed a finger at her, "Admit I got you."

It was a mistake on his part as she grabbed the finger and made it bend back a little. He groaned from the pain as both Suki and Natasha started to laugh. Then the Kyoshi Warrior admitted, "Okay, it was a lucky shot." When she released him, he held his finger to make sure it wasn't broken or anything, "Let's see if you can do it again." Suki looked to Natasha and asked, "You want to go this time?"

"Sure, why not?" Nat said as she stepped onto the mat with Sokka. This made the Water Tribe teen gulp in fear. Before they got started, Natasha turned to Suki and asked, "Are turning the training over to me just so you don't get knocked on your butt again?"

But all Suki did in response was stick her tongue out to the older woman. With a chuckle Natasha shook her head. Both Nat and Sokka then took their stances as they started with Natasha starting to circle him.

Over in the cove, Aang sat patiently far into the water while the girls and Steve watched from the shore. Steve kept an eye out for any danger. But soon the girls became bored and restless as Koko asked, "What's taking so long?"

"I'm sure it'll be here any second!" Aang shouted to the shore. Then thinking of something to pass the time, he brought his hands up to the surface and then started to do the marble trick again, "Um… what about this?"

"Not that again. Boring" One of the village girls complained. One by one, the girls started to get up as Koko questioned, "Where's Unagi? It's getting late."

"Where are you going? Don't leave." Aang called from the water as the girls started walking away. Koko had her hands up to her mouth as she shouted, "Sorry Aang! Maybe next time!"

"So much for a fan club." Steve muttered as he watched the girls walk away. Aang started to feel like he made a fool of himself for nothing as he sank into the water. But it changed when a certain Water Tribe girl walked up to the ocean. Aang looked up and shouted, "Katara! You showed up!"

Steve started moving toward her as she looked sorry as she said, "I wanted to make sure you were safe. You really had me worried."

"But back there you acted like you didn't care." Aang lightly pointed out. Katara felt really bad as she apologized, "I'm sorry."

"Aang?" Steve asked with an arched eyebrow. Aang knew what the super soldier was talking about and said, "Yeah. Me, too." He then admit, "I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk."

"Well, get out of the water, before you catch a cold, you big jerk!" Katara jokingly shouted with her hands up to her mouth. Steve smiled at this. Aang did too as he started swimming and shouted, "On my way."

But as he swam, the Unagi finally showed up as its fin broke through to the surface of the water. Katara and Steve both gasp at this. Aang was completely oblivious to the danger until the Unagi's head came underneath and lifted the Airbender out of the water. But thinking that he was on its head, he was proven wrong when the actual head rose up out of the water.

The Unagi let loose a powerful growl as it looked down on its prey. Then rearing its head back, it release a huge spray of water at Aang. When it ended, it was revealed that Aang had taken refuge behind one of the scales. He gasped when the Unagi made a lung for him. He was able to jump out of the way and caught one of the whiskers on the Unagi's snout. Aang yelled in fright as he was sung past the serpent's eye as it blinked. It blinked open again as he came back past it. Soon Aang was dangling past its open jaws when its tongue slithered out of the mouth to try and taste the boy. The Unagi started screeching as it tried to throw the still screaming Aang off of it.

"Hang on, Aang!" Katara shouted. Beside her, Steve felt totally useless as he knew he couldn't do anything to help. Aang continued to yell while the Unagi roared as it continued to shake him. Then in one final swing, Aang came loose from the whisker and screamed as he was sent flying. He landed close to the shore, but when he came back up he was unconscious as he groaned with his tongue sticking out.

Both Steve and Katara ran forward to him as she shouted, "Aang!"

The Unagi roared as it started to swim for its meal. It was a race as Katara, Cap and the Unagi swam to reach Aang. Both sides got closer as Katara and Cap started swimming. When they reached Aang, the Unagi burst from the water with another roar. Turning to Steve she shouted, "Hang on!"

He did so by wrapping his arms around the kids. Katara was still able to use her left arm as she used waterbending to propel them away just as the Unagi struck. Both her move and the Unagi's strike sent the two into a shelter of rocks where the water washed away. The Unagi didn't see them and started blasting at the rocks with its water shots. After two shots, a foghorn blows making the Unagi turn and see a ship approaching.

Katara and Steve peek from behind the rocks and immediately recognized the approaching ship. Katara worryingly whispered, "Zuko."

The ship quickly came in as the Unagi dived back under the water. When the ship was close enough, the ramp lowered itself onto the shore with a bang. Emerging from the ship was Prince Zuko and a few Fire Nation soldiers on the backs of Komodo rhinos and behind them on his own rhino was the Winter Soldier with his machine gun on his back. Prince Zuko then ordered, "I want the Avatar alive."

Katara and Steve sneak to watch the approaching prince. As the rhinos rumbled by, Katara and Steve kept themselves and the unconscious Aang pressed against the rocks. When they were sure they were gone, Katara placed Aang against the rock and said, "Wake up, Aang."

When he didn't respond, Steve placed an ear against his chest and then said, "There's too much water in him. Think you can get it out?"

Katara was a little nervous at first while Steve removed his ear, but got over it was she held her hand over Aang and used her waterbending to guide the sea water out. The water made a gentle splashing sound as it came through Aang's mouth. When it was gone, Aang started coughing as he regained consciousness. Opening his eyes, he weakly said, "Katara, Steve…"

Both friends smiled as they looked down as he said, "Don't ride the Unagi. Not fun."

Both Katara and Steve lightly chuckled from this.

Back in the Kyoshi Warrior's dojo, Sokka was still training under the tutelage of both Suki and Natasha. Momo watched while hanging upside down on a rafter while eating an assortment of sweets. Suki had taken the wheel back as she and Sokka took a stance. Then she came at him with her fan, but he was able to block it with his left hand. She was actually impressed as she gave a small compliment, "Not bad."

Sokka smiled from it. The moment was interrupted when the chief of the village came to the door and warned, "Firebenders have landed on our shores. Girl's come quickly."

He quickly ran back out with Suki following. Sokka felt like he should tell him, "Hey. I'm not a…"

Momo chittered as he jumped onto Sokka's shoulder and then out the door with a pastry in his mouth. Nat came running up beside him and said, "Don't worry, we all know you're on tough guy."

Sokka groaned and then said, "Oh, whatever."

In the village as the sun started to set, Prince Zuko's team on Komodo rhinos entered the narrow strip of the village. Knowing that he was here, Prince Zuko shouted, "Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!"

The villagers started to hide within the building. When he didn't show up, he turned to the others of his party and ordered, "Find him!"

The Fire Nation soldiers moved their Komodo rhinos forward while the Winter Soldier came up next to him. Turning his head he said, "Be on the lookout assassin."

The Winter Soldier nodded before moving his rhino forward. The four rhinos and their mounts continued to walk through the village. Up on the roof top a Kyoshi warrior opened a fan. Another ran behind to buildings. A third ran on a roof top. From above, three warriors jumped and tackled the Firebenders off the rhinos. Then in front of the lead rhino a Kyoshi warrior jumped and opened her fans and then blocked a spear from the soldier before jumping to deliver a punch to her face and thus knocking him off. Suki ran forward to Zuko's rhino and nimbly moved out of the way when he shot a fire ball and then jumped over a second one. But before she could go on the attack, a metal hand grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground. She looks up to see her foe bringing down a high kick. Quickly rolling out of the way when he landed she gave him a swift quick to the back before running again towards the prince. Jumping she gave a war cry. He glared up at her before making the Komodo rhino turn and smack her with its tail. Suki landed with a grunt, and this left her vulnerable to attack. Prince Zuko shot two fire balls at her. Sokka was able to block one with a fan, but the second flew right by him. He gasped when he turned his head. But luckily a certain red, white and blue shield blocked it. Emerging from behind the shield Cap looked to the prince and said, "Long no time, no see your Highness."

"That may be, but I have a new ally of my own." Prince Zuko said and turned his head. Steve looked to where he looked and saw a man standing up. He gasped when he saw the man turn around. Prince Zuko then ordered, "Keep the soldier busy while I go and search for the Avatar."

The Winter Soldier didn't say anything as he rushed Cap. Steve put up his shield as the Winter Soldier did a jumping kick. The kick caused Cap to fall on his back, and as he looked past the shield he saw the Winter Soldier coming down with another high kick. Cap scooted back each time the Winter Soldier tried bringing his foot down. Sokka came running up behind the Winter Soldier, and Steve shouted, "Sokka! No!"

As Sokka took a swing with a fan, the Winter Soldier grabbed his wrist and twisted it. And just when the Hydra assassin was about to punch the groaning Water Tribe teen with his metal fist, a high heeled but came smacking into his gut. The blow caused the Winter Soldier to let Sokka go and stumble back. Nat turned to Sokka and said, "Me and Cap will handle this, go help the others!"

Sokka nodded and turned back to Zuko. The Fire Nation prince had witnessed the arrival of the S.H.I.E.L.D. spy and was about to go on the attack when another Kyoshi warrior knocked him off of his rhino, making it run away. Sokka looked to Suki and said, "I guess training's over." Both of them ran to help.

Prince Zuko glared daggers as he found himself surrounded by three Kyoshi Warriors. All three stood at the ready as the took attack stances. With a grunt, Prince Zuko started spin on his hands and created a ring of fire. The flames knocked one Kyoshi Warrior into the building and Suki into the post. Prince Zuko used a low kick on the third, but the Warrior jumped over it. But as he came down, Zuko sent another kick that tripped him up. In the clear, Prince Zuko jumped out of the way.

Back with the fight between Steve, Natasha and the Winter Soldier, the assassin had just kicked the spy away as the soldier slid and tripped up the Winter Soldier. The brainwashed Hydra assassin fell to the ground and his mouth piece fell off. Turning towards Rogers, the Winter Soldier glared at him before rolling and then quickly standing up. Steve followed suit and readied himself to fight his friend. As the Winter Soldier came in with a punch with his metallic hand, Steve blocked the blow with his shield, and when the Winter Soldier pulled out a knife, he used it to try and cut Cap. Quickly grabbing the hand with the knife and then twisting the shield around to where he could grab the metal hand, he held the Winter Soldier at bay. Trying to do what he did during Project Insight he said, "Bucky! Don't make me fight you!"

But because of Hydra's programming, the Winter Soldier, Bucky, was completely unresponsive to his friend's voice. The Winter Soldier then used his trapped hands to get in a kick to Cap's gut. It sent Cap staggering back a few feet. Remembering that he was somewhat able to reach him last time, he dropped his shield and removed his mask. Looking Bucky in the eye he said, "I don't know how Hydra got a hold of you again, but know that I'll be with you till the end of the line."

It seemed to work for a moment as Bucky didn't move, but then his face scrunched up into one anger and conflict as he yelled while running up to Steve. Steve sighed as he readied himself. But the Winter Soldier's attack didn't come as something zapped the Winter Soldier from behind. In a spasm as his body fell to the ground, revealing Natasha standing with a hand to her opposite wrist. She had used her stingers to put the Winter Soldier out of commission for now. Walking over to Steve she held out a hand. He took it as she said, "Fight now, homicidal friends later."

Steve's response was to lightly push her towards the fight. He took one last look at Bucky before moving to where he dropped his helmet and shield. First picking up his helmet, he then used a stomp to make the shield come flying up into his hand.

Zuko had just started to move through the burning village as he started searching for his target. He sounded truly annoyed as he shouted, "Nice try, Avatar, but these little girls and freaks can't save you."

"Hey, over here!" A familiar voice called from behind. Prince Zuko turned and saw Aang near the entrance to the village. The Avatar shot a glare to the prince as he stood tall and had his staff in front of him. Seeing his foe, Prince Zuko said, "Finally."

Then with a grunt he sent two fire blasts at Aang. The Airbender dodges the first, and bats the second away with his staff. Then holding his staff over his head, he started spinning it fast like a helicopter blade and flew closer to Prince Zuko. With flaming mid-sweep kick, he knocked the staff out of Aang's hands. Jumping back a few feet, Aang used his airbending to draw to open fans to him. Prince Zuko then came at him with his fist out stretched. Aang then did a spin, followed by a spinning jump and when he landed he moved slow at first before yelling and sending a huge air wave with the fan. The air wave knocked Zuko off of his feet and sent him into the wall of a building.

Aang felt sad as he relaxed his guard. Running to where his staff landed, Aang picked it up while he ran and then threw it. It transformed into the glider as he continued to run. Jumping on the glider, he flew above the village and saw the destruction and chaos that he felt he brought. When he turned his head he saw that the fighting had sent flames onto the statue of Kyoshi. Aang felt guilty as he continued to fly and watch.

"Get inside." Katara said as she helped a girl into a building. Aang landed close and walked up to her. With sadness in his voice he said, "Look what I brought to this place."

"It's not your fault." Katara said to console him. But he didn't feel it as he lightly argued, "Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me."

"Then let's get out of here." Katara suggested. She made a point by saying, "Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us."

"She's right." Nat's voice came from the side. Both young Benders turned to see Natasha and Steve running up to them. Steve was in full agreement as he said, "I think for the good of Kyoshi and her people, we need to leave."

"I know it feels wrong to run, but I too think it's the only way." Katara said to Aang. It didn't change Aang's mood much as he hung his head and said, "I'll call Appa."

In another part of the village, a Kyoshi Warrior blocked a fire blast with one fan before throwing a closed fan at a Firebender. The fan hit one of them in the head and knocked him out when he hit the ground.

As two warriors kept the fighting going, Sokka and Suki were hiding behind a building. She told him to go, "There's no time to say good-bye."

"What about, I'm sorry?" Sokka offered. This confused Suki as she questioned, "For what?"

Sokka then felt the guilt of not recognizing them as warriors as he said, "I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior."

"I am a warrior." Suki said. Then she kissed him on the cheek before saying as a reminder, "But I'm a girl too."

Sokka blushed as he put a hand up to his cheek. Suki moved away and prepared herself to get back in the fray as she ordered, "Now get out of here. We'll hold them off."

Sokka took the hint and started running to find the others. Quickly, Sokka ran up the tail of Appa as he was lowered behind a building. As soon as he was in the saddle with his sister and the Avengers, Aang turned to the bison and said, "Appa, yip-yip!"

Appa groaned as he took off into the sky. Zuko looked to the sky and saw that the bison was starting to fly away. Looking to his soldiers he ordered as he ran, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!"

Without hesitation the soldiers started to follow his lead. As he came to the spot where he left him, Prince Zuko came across the Winter Soldier. Running up to the revived assassin he said, "Come on."

The Winter Soldier complied by standing on his feet and running after the prince.

As Appa was flying over the cove, Steve, Katara, Natasha and Sokka looked back to the burning village. While Sokka removed the face paint, Katara moved to the front of the saddle and said to saddened Aang, "I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we stayed." She tried to reassure him by saying, "They're going to be okay, Aang."

It still didn't sit right with Aang. He narrowed his eyes in determination as he immediately knew what he had to do. Quickly acting, Aang jumped off the bison 's head and into the water. The four on Appa looked over the side as Katara shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"Aang!" Steve shouted after him. Natasha turned to her friend and asked, "Is he always like this?"

"Sometimes." Was all that Steve said. They looked back down as Aang disappeared under the water with a huge splash. All five watched the water in anticipation.

They noticed how the surface started to ripple as the Unagi burst from the water for the second time today. It roared as Aang had a firm grip on both of its whiskers this time. It tried to shake him off, but Aang kept his grip on the whiskers as he planted himself onto the sea serpents head. Then with a pull on the whiskers, Aang made the Unagi spray its water attack. But it wasn't used as an attack for the moment. No, it was being used to put the flames out on the village. The fires were soon quenched from the pouring water. On the way out of the village, Prince Zuko and his soldiers had gotten soaked from the water as they all rode on the same rhino, but the Winter Soldier had been mysteriously prepared as he held an umbrella at the back. At the front of the group on the saddle, Prince Zuko had a very irritated look on his face while the soldiers who didn't wear a mask looked glum. The Unagi then thrusts its head up and Aang flies off just as Appa comes and grabs him before he could fall.

As Appa made his get away with his passengers, down in the village from one of the buildings, the chief looked out the window to the departing bison and said, "Thank you, Avatar and Avengers."

On the bison's saddle, Katara, Sokka, Momo, Steve and Natasha waited for Aang to climb up. And as he did, he knew what they were going to say and said himself, "I know, I know." He climbed into the saddle and said the obvious, "That was stupid and dangerous."

"Yes, it was." Katara said. She rushed and gave Aang a huge which he happily gasped to and then sighed in content. When she let him go, Steve pulled the young Airbender into a hold and started to give him a noogie on his arrowed head. Both giggled when the super soldier stopped. From the other side, Nat gave the kid a playful punch to the shoulder and said, "Not bad kid."

The group then flew away with cheer into the sunset as the Unagi disappeared into the depths of the cove.

Author's Note: Boy that was a long chapter. For Natasha's getting to Kyoshi Island she did have some help, but I'll leave that to you fans to decide what it was. I do apologize if my description of the fight scene wasn't too good, I'll try to do better. I did enjoy putting those little gags into this chapter. This was the last episode on the disc so I'm going to take a little break from Avenging Avatar for just a little bit. I want to work on a few other fanfics while I've got the time. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	5. Chapter Five: The King of Omashu

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _As Appa flew away from Prince Zuko's ship, Aang pulled out a map and the two Water Tribe kids and Avenger gather as he pointed to spots on the map._

 _On Kyoshi Island, the group run into Natasha Romanoff, another Avenger._

 _During the battle for Kyoshi, Steve and Natasha fight against the Winter Soldier._

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Five: The King of Omashu**

As they flew over the continent of the Earth Kingdom, all five friends sat in the saddle of the bison. Sokka had wanted to ask Steve something about what happened on Kyoshi Island.

"Hey, Steve?" Sokka asked from the back. All eyes turned to him as Steve said, "Yeah?"

"That guy who was with Zuko. I saw you freeze up for a minute before fighting him." Sokka remembered. He asked, "Do you know him?"

Steve sighed and then said, "I do. You see, that man who fought alongside Zuko was, is, a good friend of mine. But he's not himself."

"Is he another Avenger?" Katara asked. Steve shook his head and said, "No."

Steve clearly looked upset at the thought of his friend. Nat saw the expression on his face and decided to take over, "As Steve said, he's an old friend of Steve's. Back during the war before Steve went under, he and that man on Kyoshi were part of a mission to capture a rogue scientist under the employment of Hydra. But something went wrong."

Steve cleared his throat, letting Natasha know that he was willing to tell. She became silent as he said, "Let's just say that I had thought that Bucky had died that day."

Sokka then said, "But he didn't, did he."

"No." Steve shook his head. He explained it further, "Sometime after the war had ended, one of the scientists of Hydra must have found him unconscious or something. They experimented on him and turned him into a super soldier of their own." He took a moment to take a breath, and then continued, "And then a short time after I had come out of the ice, we had an encounter with Bucky. And let's just say that it didn't go so well."

The three from their world looked to one another before looking back at the Avengers. They took one last look to each other and knew what they were thinking. With a nod of their heads, Aang looked to Steve and said, "Steve, I promise that we'll help you help your friend."

"Heh." Steve chuckled. Then he said, "If there is a chance of helping him, maybe we can."

All five friends looked at one another with a smile. Then Aang looked ahead of Appa and gasped as a big grin formed on his face. He pointed and shouted, "Hey, we're almost to a place I know." He looked to the others and clasped both hands as he pleaded, "Can we go there, please? I want you all to experience something really fun. I promise it won't take too much time out of our way."

The four of them looked to each other. When they looked back to Aang, they saw that he was putting on big pair of sad soulful eyes. With a sigh from all four, Sokka grumbled loudly and said, "I guess so."

"Hooray!" Aang shouted and then jumped onto Appa's head. With a big hearty laugh he snapped the reigns to make Appa go faster.

When they landed, they started walking up a hill following Aang as he took the lead. Cap had left his helmet and shield behind and Natasha had left her electric stingers behind on Appa as well. When they came to the top of the hill, Aang proudly raised his arms and stated, "The Earth Kingdom, City of Omashu!"

Aang then told them, "I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi."

His four friends looked ahead and saw huge city built onto a mountain. Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha were truly amazed by the sight. Nat made the comment, "I don't think we have anything this amazing like this back home."

"You said it." Steve said, not taking his eyes off the city. Katara said in wonder, "Wow, we don't have cities like this in the South Pole."

"They have buildings here that don't melt." Sokka said in the obvious. Nat looked at him and said, "I think that's kind of a point in the Earth Kingdom, don't you think?"

Sokka shot her a small glare. Aang was impatient as he turned to his friends and said, "Well, let's go, slowpokes. The real fun is inside the city!"

Getting a move on, Aang jumped down the slope of the hill. Katara ran to the edge of the hill and called to the Airbender, "Wait, Aang."

Aang slid to a stop and looked back when she said, "It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

"She's right, actually." Steve agreed. Natasha then said, "It does make sense. We do want to have a repeat of what happened on Kyoshi."

Sokka was in full agreement and said, "You need a disguise."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Aang asked. He raised an eyebrow as he said, "Grow a mustache?"

Thirty Minutes Later…

By using some Appa's fur, they were able to make an actual mustache and wig. Aang twitched his nose to it due to the incredible itchiness. He complained as he started scratching his head, "Oh, this is so itchy!" He looked to his bison and asked, "How do you live in this stuff?"

Appa's response was getting in Aang's face and snort a blast of air at him. The others looked satisfied as Sokka said, "Great! Now you look just like my grandfather."

"Technically, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old." Katara pointed out. Kicking his staff up into his hand, Aang started the act by saying in an old man voice, "Now let's get to skipping, young whippersnappers, the big city awaits."

He started to walk towards Omashu like an old man as the others looked to each the others with odd faces.

The five of them made their way across the narrow stone bridge to the city. They had to be careful as the walked for the deep chasm. As got closer to the city Aang looked back to them and said, "You guys are gonna love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

But as they approached the gates, the scene was not what they were expecting. A man questioned, "Rotten cabbages?"

They saw a cabbage salesman cowering before three Earth Kingdom soldiers as the one in the middle yelled, "What kind of slum do you think this is?"

The soldier crushed a head of cabbage in his hands, knocked two more out of the merchant's hands, and then with a push of his right arm, he used his earthbending to make a pillar shoot the cabbage cart into the air. The cart went high into the sky before it turned in an arch and fell down into the chasm. Both the cart and its cargo disappeared. The cabbage merchant looked over the side with a worried expression and yelled, "Oh, my cabbages!"

The five friends looked over the side as well just as the cart crashed at the bottom. All of them had worried looks as they stared down. When they turned their attention back to the city, Aang put on a grin and said, "Just keep smiling."

While they started walking Katara gave a nervous chuckle in hope. Sokka, Natasha and Steve didn't say anything. Aang took on the old man act as they came up to the three guards. The middle Earthbender became hostile again as he used a half-circular motion of his arm to earthbend a huge boulder into the air and over Aang's head. With a stern glare he said, "State your business."

Using his airbending, he quickly shimmed over to the soldier. Then as a cranky old man Aang said, "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours." Aang started to poke the Earthbender in the chest. The soldier lost focus on the boulder, thus allowing it to fall on the ground making the four behind it jump a little. Aang kept up the act by saying, "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside." This made Sokka's face drop to a really worried expression, Katara shake her head with a raised eyebrow, and Steve and Natasha looked to each other with worried expressions.

"Settle down old timer." The soldier said, not wanting to start anything that would embarrass the both of them. Aang gave him the stink eye as he said, "Just tell me who you are."

"My name's Bonzoo Pipenpeddlopsokopolis, the third." Aang quickly came up with. While three of his friends didn't say anything, Sokka had a raised eyebrow to it. Then he gestured to the others, "And these are my grandkids with their Aunt and Uncle."

Katara walked up and got in on the act with a wave, "Hi, June Pipenpeddlopsokopolis. Nice to meet you."

The tall soldier looked between the two and scratching his chin. Then he said to Katara, "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble." Then he looks to Steve and Nat and say, "Same goes for you, I don't want any trouble from you strangely dressed strangers."

Both Steve and Natasha nodded in understanding. The soldier gestured towards the city and said, "Then, enjoy Omashu."

"We will!" Katara said as the group moved past the soldiers. But as Sokka walked by them, the soldier said, "Wait a minute." This made the group stop and look back. The Earthbender put a hand on Sokka's shoulder, making him feel scared. He cast a quick glance at the others and Cap secretly motioned with his hand to keep it cool.

They were all a bit weirded out, but relieved when the soldier only said, "You're a strong young boy." He turned the Water Tribe teen around and sternly said, "Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."

"Good idea!" Aang said as he tossed the bag to Sokka. It hit him in the face as he caught it. Sokka cast an annoyed glance behind him for it.

When the five stood before the gates to the city, through Earthbending a series of three stone gates shakily slid open. While Aang was more than likely used to seeing this kind of thing, Steve, Sokka, Natasha and Katara were all amazed by it and what lay beyond the gates. The group started to move into the city as the gates started to close again. The soldier watched as they quickly hurried in. And just as the gates closed, a certain lemur's ears popped out of the wig. The soldier gasped at the sight, and tried to get a closer look right as the stone gates came back together.

As the final gate behind them, the five friends stood on the inside of the city. They looked at the buildings, the people, and some kind of delivery system.

Steve was amazed as he said, "I know I shouldn't be talking like it should happen, but I'm really amazed that Omashu hasn't been affected by the war."

"Yeah, must be able to hold its own really good." Natasha agreed. Their attention was diverted when Aang said, "This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes."

He pointed to a place where Earthbenders used their bending and explained, "Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down."

"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka sarcastically said. Aang was oblivious to the sarcasm and said, "They do get their mail on time." He turned away and a mischievous smile grew on his face as he said, "But my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes."

He then remembered that day…

(Begin Flashback)

A long time ago, in a younger City of Omashu, a young Bumi stood proudly before the railing and gazed out to the city. With a gleeful jump, Bumi turned to face his friend and said, "Look around you!"

The young boy wore brown pants, a yellow tunic with a green belt tied around his waist, sweat bands on his arms and head. But his most notable features were the crazy look in his eyes and a gap in his teeth.

"What do you see?" He asked Aang. Aang tried to think of an answer but gave an obvious answer, "Um, the mail system."

Aang walked over to his friend as Bumi told him something to broaden his horizon by saying, "Instead of seeing what they want to see, you've got to open your brain to the possibilities."

Aang tried again and said, "A package-sending system?"

Bumi had a great big and mischievous smile as he threw his arms towards a chute and shouted, "The world's greatest super slide!"

Knowing what his friend had in mind, Aang's face grew into a smile of its own. He turned to his friend and said, "Bumi, you're a mad genius."

Bumi had a wild look in his eye as he started giggling crazily with a few snorts.

Five minutes later…

Both Aang and Bumi laugh real loud as they used the shoot as a slide. Aang could feel the wind in his face since he was up front. Aang shouts in pure joy as they continue down, "Yeah!"

(End Flashback)

Back in the present, at the top of the same chute, they found themselves a stone carrier for all five of them, with Aang in front and Steve in the very back. As it tilted over the edge, Aang looked back and said, "One ride, then we're off to the North Pole and the search for the other Avengers. Airbender's honor."

All four of them seemed a little nervous about doing this, especially Katara when she said, "This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm having second…" She screamed the last word as they went down, "THOUGHTS!"

Aang laughed as they sped down the shoot, while Momo, still in the wig, on the other hand tried to hang on as they slid down fast. The four behind them looked really scared as they kept going. As they went down a curve, the path straightened and then a problem presented itself. Coming down a parallel path was a cart with spears pointing to the front. The five looked to the weapons cart as theirs over took it. They screamed as they went down a steep incline that connected both chutes. Steve, Natasha, and Sokka gasped when the spear heads came to close and ducked down to avoid being impaled. Katara turned and gasped in fright when they came close to her. Aang looked back as well and saw their predicament and shouted, "I'm on it!"

He started rocking the cart to make it go flying off the chute. Four of the passengers screamed as they fell while Aang laughed at the enjoyment. Steve commented real loudly as they fell, "You're enjoying this way too much, Aang!"

Their cart crashed into the top of the roof and slid down it and over the edge.

An Earth Kingdom soldier was giving a speech to some troops, "Men, you'll be going off to combat soon. It's important that you be prepared for anything."

It just so happened that anything to be prepared for did happen as the group's stone cart crashed in front of them. A small bell rang as there was a temporary freeze frame. In the frame, Momo looked worried in the wig, Aang looked purely excited, Katara couldn't see anything with Aang's foot in her face, Sokka had a crazed look with his tongue sticking out, and finally both Nat and Steve gave a small smile and a wave as they passed by the soldiers. Their sudden appearance had startled them as the bell rings again and the cart and its passengers carried on. This left the soldiers confused as they went, "Huh?"

The cart slid over to a cart crossing and crashed through the railing and another cart, making that cart turn over. Another cart crashed into the over turned cart. Their cart came crashing onto another chute and slid down it. Wanting the ride to be over, Katara shouted, "Aang do something! Use your airbending!"

"Yeah! Good idea!" Aang said, getting another idea for fun, "That'll make us go even faster!"

This made the three in the very back grow wide in terror as Natasha shouted in irritation, "Kid, I don't think that's what she meant!"

But it didn't work as Aang formed a triangle with both hands and then with a parting circle, he used his airbending to make the cart go faster. The cart sped even faster down the track and rounded a curve. They passed what appeared to be a restaurant balcony, making the people on it curious as to what went by.

At a lane changing station, an Earthbender watched as a cart of fabric came to a stop before him. Aang's cart soon came barreling down the same lane. When they reached the bottom, they saw the card of fabric. This caused all five to scream in terror. Lucky for them the Earthbender at the station moved the cart out of the way. The group gives a sigh of relief. However; the Earthbender brings up a second cart, thus making them scream again. They crashed into the cart and were sent flying. Aang quickly spun and used his airbending to move the cart under them. They landed in the basket and continued to fall. They crashed onto another roof and slid diagonally off the roof and then onto another roof.

In a pottery makers room, a man was just finishing his latest work. But it was interrupted when a cart came crashing through the window and smashed into the vase and then went through the other window. As they went flying back into the city Aang shouted the pottery maker, "Sorry!"

The cart came crashing down on a building and slid through it. When they came out, they actually picked up a hitch hiker. A grey cat with a big unibrow, moustache and a beard started to into a fight with Momo on the wig. The two of them went really fast through the wig as they fought. It ended with Momo pushing the cat off. Up ahead was a ramp made of four boards, but they didn't go over it. They smashed the boards as they went through the stone railing. The five screamed as they fell.

Somehow, the cabbage merchant from earlier had gotten into the city. He was deep in it as he was hugging one of the cabbage heads. He stopped when he heard a noise. Poking his head out and looking up, the cabbage merchant gasped when he saw the cart falling towards his cart. The cart completely crushed the cabbage cart while Aang, Steve, Katara, Natasha and Sokka fell into a comical pile.

"My cabbages!" The merchant shouted as Momo came down. When the lemur landed, a few guards ran over as the merchant told the group, "You're gonna pay for this!"

Aang sat up and noticed the guards surrounding them. Putting on a smile, he tried to ease the tension by saying, "Two cabbages, please."

He winced at the guards.

The five friends were soon brought to the king of the city. A guard moved aside as the group was escorted to the king's throne. The king of Omashu sat their and waited for all of them to be presented. His majesty mostly wore a green cloak with a two green shaded shawl over it. His crown looked like to huge horns that curved backwards. While Sokka and Katara felt really nervous about all this, Aang felt guilty about it and Steve and Natasha tried to keep a strong face. When the king looked over Aang, Steve and Natasha, they intrigued him the most, especially Aang, "Hmm?"

A soldier then told him the charges as the five were pushed on their knees, "Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses and malicious destruction of cabbages."

"Off with their heads!" The cabbage merchant shouted in anger. Then he said, "One for each head of cabbage!"

The soldier raised a hand to quiet the man and said, "Silence. Only the King can pass down judgement." He turned to his Majesty and asked, "What is your judgement, sire?"

"Hmm." The king said as he looked the group over again. He leaned forward to look at them one by one. Sokka whimpered in fear, Natasha gave him a wink, Katara had her hands clasped together and gave big smile, Steve tried to not looking intimidating as he looked the King in the eye, and Aang looked at him with a raised eye brow. The King stared at the young Airbender, making Aang look down to the ground and whistle. The King then pointed and said, "Throw them…" the group gasped when they thought about their punishment. But they weren't expecting it when he said, "…a feast."

This made the soldier gasp while the cabbage merchant groaned at the injustice for his cabbages. This confused four of the five in the group while Sokka smiled in relief. Aang gave a funny raised eyebrow and said, "Huh?"

Sometime later, a huge spread was placed on a long table. Momo was happily munching on a cookie of sorts. The group was seated with the kids sitting in between the two Avengers. Natasha sat by Katara while Steve sat next to Sokka. The King chuckled as he stood behind the seated group and said, "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts." He picked up a chicken leg, held in front of Aang and said, "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

Aang politely declined by saying, "Thanks, but I don't eat meat."

"How about you?" The King said to Sokka. He stuck the chicken leg in the teen's mouth and said, "I bet you like meat."

Sokka clearly enjoyed the taste of meat as he removed the chicken leg from his mouth. As the King walked back over to his seat, Katara turned to Aang and said, "Is it just me or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" She made the motion by putting a finger to her head and swirling it around in a circle.

"So, tell me, young bald one," The King said as he started to sit down, "where are you from?"

Aang took a moment to think and then said, "I'm from… Kangaroo Island."

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh?" The King said. Then he leaned forward in his seat as he made a joke, "I hear that place is really hopping."

Steve gave a small cough to this as none of them laugh. Then Sokka broke out in a fit of laughter, making the others turn their heads. Sokka stopped laughing when they were giving him odd looks and said, "What? It was pretty funny."

The King of Omashu gave a yawn before saying, "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired." He started to get up, but then started to reach for something. It made Steve and Nat very suspicious as the King said, "I guess it's time to hit the hay."

Then in a quick flash, he threw a chicken leg at Aang. Aang flinched as he caught the chicken leg in an air sphere, shocking all five friends. His reaction made some of the guards and servants gasp. The King then said, "There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender." He stood up as he said, "The Avatar!"

Trying to make it seem like nothing had happened, Aang stopped airbending and let the chicken leg fall as he put his arms down. Steve sighed and said, "Nice try, Aang."

"Now, what do you have to say for yourself," The King said as he sat down, "Mr. Pipenpeddlopsokopolis?"

"Okay, you caught me." Aang said as he stood up, not playing any games. He tried to make it sound as if they weren't there to make trouble, "I'm the Avatar… doing my avatar thing, keeping the world safe." Looking under the table he said, "Everything checks out. No Firebenders here. So good work, everybody." He put a hand on Sokka and Katara's shoulders. He brings the two close as he said, "Love each other. Respect all life," The King just there as all five get up and start walk backwards as Aang said to the guards near the door, "and don't run with your spears." The other four wave as they nearly walk out and Aang said, "We'll see you next time."

But their exit was cut off when the soldiers crossed their spears, preventing them to go any further. They look to the guards before turning back to the King. Katara then said, "You can't keep us here. Let us leave."

"Lettuce leaf?" The King asked as he picked up a lettuce leaf. He put the leaf in his mouth and started to eat it like a goat. Placing a hand to say in secret, he said, "We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts."

The King of Omashu then declared, "Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges." Aang looked worried by this. Then the King said, "But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

The King had his hands together as servant next to him leaned forward a little and asked, "My liege, do you mean the good chamber or the bad chamber?"

"The newly-refurbished chamber." The King quickly answered. The servant was a little confused and asked, "Wait, which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber," His majesty explained, "until the recent refurbishing, that is." He started to think about it as he said, "Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them, um.

"Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad." He ordered. As they were escorted out of the room, he put another lettuce leaf into his mouth and started to eat it.

The group was escorted to the chamber, and an Earthbender lowered a section of the stone for them to enter. They were all pushed in before the door was resealed. Natasha looked to Steve and said, "Talk about rude."

They then looked about the room and Katara commented, "This is a prison cell? But it's so nice."

"He did say that it was newly refurbished." Aang reminded. Sokka wasn't really concerned about the décor as he said, "Nice or not, we're prisoners."

"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be." Aang said as he looked to the floor. Katara had her hands on her hips as she said, "We're not sticking around to find out."

Sokka looked to Steve and asked, "Do you think you might be able to punch through these walls?"

"I don't think so." Steve said, "Besides, I think there might be an Earthbender on the other side of the wall to fix what I break."

"Well, there's gotta be some way out of here." Katara said. Aang had an idea and pointed, "The air vents!"

The group looked to the tiny round hole that provided them with fresh oxygen. While Aang had a smile on his face, the four of the others looked to one another before Sokka commented, "If you think we're gonna fit through there, you're crazier than that king."

"We can't," Aang explained, "but Momo can."

They looked to the lemur who was lying on a bed with an extended stomach, licking on a bitten apple that he must have swiped. Aang came closer to Momo and said, "Momo, I need you to find Appa and bust us out of here."

The lemur chittered as he stopped licking the apple and looked up to Aang.

Taking the lemur into his hands, Aang placed Momo up to the air vent and started shoving him in. When he didn't go through the first time, Aang pulled the lemur in and out multiple times. Momo chittered in discomfort as he was pushed and pulled in the stone pipe. Aang tried to make go in and said, "Go on, boy. Get Appa."

When he couldn't make Momo go through he stopped. Sokka, now lying on a bed with his hands behind his head, was the skeptic of the moment and said, "Eh, how is Appa supposed to save us, anyway?"

"I kind of agree with Sokka here." Natasha said as she climbed into one of the hammocks. As Momo tried to pull himself free, Aang argued on the bison's behalf, "Appa is a ten-ton flying bison. I think he could figure something out."

Momo gave up on trying to pull himself loose. Luckily for him, Steve came over and grabbed the lemur by the sides and gently pulled him out. The lemur looked up to the super soldier and chittered in gratitude at him. Steve looked back down at the lemur and said, "You're welcome."

"Well,, no point arguing about it now." Katara said as she took one of the beds. She looked over at Aang and said, "Get some rest, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow."

Steve jumped into another hammock as Aang took the last bed. He didn't fall asleep just yet.

The next morning, Aang laid face down, snoring and drooling. The sound of a crumbling wall through earthbending woke him up. As he looked around he didn't hear the others and called out, "Sokka? Katara? Steve? Natasha?

"Where are my friends?" Aang questioned as he turned to the Earthbender. The Earthbender relayed what he was told, "The king will free them if you complete your challenges."

"And if I fail?" Aang asked with a raised eyebrow. The Earthbender answered, "He didn't say." He held out his hand and requested, "Your staff, please."

Aang complied by kicking his staff into his hand, giving it a little spin and then tossed it to the soldier. The soldier caught it in his hand.

Aang was escorted by two soldiers back to the King's throne room. His Majesty came before them in a different outfit. This one was purple and had a fur shawl. The only thing similar to the previous one was the crown only in a purplish color. The King said, "First, Avatar," He gestured to his outfit as he said, "what do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinion."

Some one coughed on the side. The King stretched out his arms and said, "I'm waiting."

"I guess it's fine." Aang said as he scratched his head with a single finger. The King looked a little excited as he said, "Excellent. You've passed the first test."

"Really?" Aang asked, thinking that this would be easy. But the King was quick to say, "Well, not one of the deadly tests. The real challenges are much more, uh, challenging."

Aang, having had enough, quickly ran with airbending up to the King. When he came to a stop a few feet from the King, the wind blew past both of them. With an angry face, Aang said, "I don't have time for your crazy games. Give me my friends back. We're leaving!"

"Oh, I thought you might refuse." His Majesty said with a frown. A wall to the left of the King lowered to reveal his friends as the King said, "So I will give two of your friends some special souvenirs and the other two will have to remain locked up."

Aang turned to see that two soldiers held Sokka and Katara by one arm as they placed something on their fingers. Steve and Natasha had shackles on their wrists. Aang glared at the King as he started to say, "Those delightful rings are made of pure genomite, also known as creeping crystal."

Aang watched as Katara's ring glowed and shrunk to where it couldn't be taken off. Both Water Tribesman tried to pull the rings, but it didn't work. The King then explained, "It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it." The King looked remorseful as he closed his eyes and said, "Terrible fate, really." He opened his eyes and looked to Aang and said, "I can stop it and free your other friends, but only if you cooperate."

They both look back over to them as the ring on Sokka's finger starts creeping a little. Sokka shrieks and said, "It's already creeping!"

Seeing as he had no choice, Aang looked to the crazy King and said, "I'll do what you want."

"Hmm." His Majesty said as a smile grew on his face.

Aang had been taken to a dark chamber filled with stalagmites and stalactites. He stood on a platform and stared at a waterfall. The King gave a maniacal laugh as he looked down to the Avatar. He looked behind him to see how much the genomite had crept, he saw that it completely encased their right hands. Steve and Nat looked worried for them. Turning back to Aang, the King then gave out the first challenge, "It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry."

Suspended on a chain with a ladder underneath it, the key dangled inside the waterfall. The King pointed to it and shouted, "Oh, there it is!

"Would you mind fetching it for me?" He asked. Aang glared at him before setting his sights on the key. He jumped off his platform and used the sides of the stalagmites near the tips to get closer to the water fall. On the last stalagmite he brought his hands in front of him and shot into the waterfall. It was a slow process reaching the ladder, and with difficulty he was able to grab a rung. He gritted his teeth as he tried to grab another rung, but the pouring water made it more difficult.

"Ooh, climbing the ladder." His Majesty commented. He rolls his eyes as he said, "No one's thought of that before."

The pressure of the falling water was too much for Aang and he lost his grip. He yelled as he was blasted out of the waterfall. While it seemed that the King was enjoying this, Sokka, Steve, Katara and Natasha all looked from the balcony in worry.

Putting his arms and legs parallel, Aang was able to slid to a stop before being impaled. His left eye twitched twice before he lets out a sigh of relief. He looks up to the balcony where his friends were smiling to him being okay. Getting back into the challenge, Aang used the sides of the stalagmites to jump up to the stalactites. When he moved towards the waterfall, he pressed his hands and feet between two stalactites and looked down at the key in the waterfall. Taking a chance, he let go and moved himself to where he would go faster in the fall and used his airbending in a drill move to penetrate the water. It worked for a second, but the water threw him off course and out of it. Once again he was shot out and crashed into a stalagmite. When he started to fall, he whimpered as he hugged onto it to keep himself from falling.

"That's right, keep diving head in." The King said from the balcony. He offered a little encouragement, "I'm sure it will work eventually."

Aang gasps as he looks at the stalagmite and then over at the waterfall and to the key that still dangled. An idea formed in his head and he broke off the end of the stalagmite. He smiled at this. Then standing on the broken top, he held the end in a throwing position and then flung it at the waterfall. He followed up with a spinning motion and created an air wave. With a spin he launched the air wave after the end. The air wave made the flying rock piece go faster as it flew. The air wave cut the chain and the rock piece followed. Both ended up over the King's head, with the key dangling from the stalagmite piece. The King just stared at the key as Aang shouted, "There, enjoy your lunch.

"I want my friends back now." Aang demanded.

The King didn't sound like he was going to give into Aang's demand as he said, "Uh, not yet. I need help with another matter." He clasped his hands together as he looked up and sadly said, "It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy."

In another chamber, a really long eared bunny sat on a pile of rocks in a ditch. Aang jumped down next to the rabbit, looked back up and said, "Okay, found him."

"Bring him to me." The King demanded from above, "Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsy." He turned to a guard and said, "Hurry and release the man, I wish for him to take part in this challenge."

This confused the group and the guard, but the guard did it anyway. When Steve's shackles were removed, the King pointed and said, "You might want to hurry. Your friend's more than likely going to need your help for this one."

Steve just glared at the older man before jumping down in the ditch. When he reached the bottom, Steve watched Aang's back as the Airbender moved closer to the bunny saying, "Come here, Flopsy."

Steve was watching Aang for a moment, but then noticed something coming down into the ditch with them. When he turned around, the thing crashed onto the ground. Steve, Aang and the bunny slowly turned their heads as Aang gives a nervous chuckle while the thing behind them growled. The bunny took off running right before the gorilla-goat went wild with a roar. Both Aang and Steve jump out of the way just as the gorilla-goat used both hands to do a clap smash on the rock. When they landed, the bunny hopped away crying. Aang looked to see where it went. Steve shouted to him, "Go after it! I'll hold off this thing!"

Aang nodded and took off after the bunny. He shouted, "Flopsy, wait!"

The gorilla-goat tried to charge at the Avatar, but Steve moved in its way and said, "You wanna get to him, you gotta go through me."

The gorilla-goat roared at the Captain, raised its fists and tried slamming them down on the super soldier. Cap hopped out of the way and caught a huge hairy fist as the gorilla-goat took swing at him. In a quick motion, the gorilla-goat lifted Cap into the air and sent him flying. Cap crashed into the wall under the others, causing all four of them to wince. They were relieved however when Cap said, "I'm fine."

The gorilla-goat looked and saw Aang still chasing the bunny and gave chase. Aang looked behind him and saw that the gorilla-goat coming after him. Aang called out to the bunny again, "Flopsy!"

From the outside of the ditch, the King laughed as he enjoyed the show. Steve removed himself from the rock wall and took a moment to recollect himself. Aang continued to chase after the bunny and yelled, "Flopsy!"

Steve shook the stars from his head and saw that the gorilla-goat was closing in on Aang. Cap took off running and used his super soldier speed to try and catch up. Aang looked behind him again and saw that the gorilla-goat was really close and turned to the right when the bunny went right. The little bunny ran to a hole and disappeared right as Aang came in sliding with his arm stretched out. He gave an annoyed glare as he felt around for the critter. Then something came to his mind, looked back and said, "Wait a minute."

Steve continued running after the gorilla-goat as it got closer. Aang removed his arm and stood up. Taking a wild guess he said, "Flopsy?"

Dust was kicked up as Flopsy came to a stop. When the dust settled, Flopsy had stopped and wagged his tail in delight. Steve stopped as well when he saw that the gorilla-goat wasn't hostile. The gorilla-goat came closer and took a yelling Aang up into his arms. Flopsy held Aang in both arms and proceeded to lick him in the face. Aang then happily shouted, "Flopsy!"

Aang petted his head just as The King whistled for his pet. Flopsy dropped Aang and made a b-line towards his owner. The gorilla-goat climbed up to the railing and rolled onto his back for a belly rub. The King then said, "Oh, that's a good boy." He came closer to Flopsy and gave him what he wanted, "Yes, who has a soft belly?" Flopsy's reaction to the belly rub was kicking his left back leg.

Aang used his airbending to send Steve back up to the balcony before jumping up himself. As he landed on the ledge and Steve climbed over, Aang then asked the more crystalized friends, "Guys, are you okay?"

"Other than the crystals slowly encasing my entire body?" Katara said acting like everything would be okay, "Doing great."

She looked to her brother whose crystallization looked much different than hers. On his left side, a section of crystal grew longer. It caused him to fall over.

"Oh, yes." The King said as he continued to rub Flopsy's belly. Aang walked over to him, making both look as he said, "Come on, I'm ready for the next challenge."

A wide grin grew on the King's face as he said, "Ah."

In a third arena-like chamber, Aang and the King stood in the middle stands at one end while the others stood to the one on the left. Steve had been told that he would not be restrained again if he did not interfere with this challenge. The King laughed as he revealed the final challenge, "Your final test is a duel And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent."

Two men stepped into the stand, one was a man who stomped onto the stand wore a spiked gauntlet on his left arm and a more guarded gauntlet on his right, had two swords strapped to his back and one at his left hip, had two slashed scars over his left eye, not to mention that he carried a spear with a curved blade. Aang moans softly in fear at the sight of the man. The other landed in the stand, and wore shoulder pads in the shape of some animal with fangs, spiked gauntlets on both arms, a loin cloth and a mask over his mouth. His weapon was a long axe. The King then said, "Point and choose."

Aang was a little unsure about this as he asked, "So you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?"

"Choose wisely." The King warned. Aang took a moment to think it over as he looked between the two fighters. He said, "I… choose…" The man with the curved spear gave a Joker smile in hopes that it would be him. But Aang didn't choose any of them as he pointed to the King of Omashu, "you."

The King gave a smirk and said, "Wrong choice."

Then the incredible happened as the crazy old man cracked his knuckles, his back straightened, his feet emerged from underneath his outfit. The outfit fell off to reveal an old man whose kept in shape for a long time. Aang moans in fear of this revelation. Steve, Katara, Sokka and Natasha were all surprised to this as well. With a stomp of his foot, the King sent a crack towards Aang that erupted into a pillar. Aang yelled as he was sent flying down into the arena. He crashed and slid a few feet. The King jumped in after him and landed a foot or two away from the Airbender. Aang gasps in fear as the King gives another maniacal laugh.

"You thought I was a frail old man," The King said. But then he told Aang, "but I'm the most powerful Earthbender you'll ever see."

Aang stood on his feet and tried to make a change by asking, "Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?"

"Come on, kid! Man up!" Nat yelled to him. The others didn't say anything and only gave her a look. The King said, "There are no take-backsies in my kingdom." He pointed up to the stands and said, "You might need these."

A guard tossed Aang's staff down into the arena. He caught it, but became confused when the King said 'these'. Looking back up, he saw the guard move towards Natasha and unlock her cuffs. With her wrists free she jumped down into the arena did back flips towards Aang. Steve shouted from the balcony, "Show off!"

When she reached Aang, Natasha looked to him and said, "I was wondering when we would team up in a fight."

Aang smiled in appreciation before they both readied themselves. The King then raised a boulder out of the ground with a fist before punching it towards them. Both Aang and Natasha quickly dodged the incoming boulder. Aang deflected one while Nat jumped over another. When they stopped coming, the King relaxed his body and said, "Typical Airbender tactic. Avoid and Evade." He followed with a taunt, "I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable." On the last word he raised another boulder and with a two open palm thrust sent it flying towards them.

Aang grabbed Nat's hand and jumped over the boulder. The boulder sails under them and crashes. As they came down, Aang released her and they went in for an attack as the King said, "Don't either of you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later you'll have to strike back." With a stomp of his foot, a boulder was raised high into the air. And then with a jump he turned his body to where he could kick the boulder. The boulder crashed into the ceiling, and the debris knocked both Aang and Natasha out of the air with a groan. They quickly fell down to Earth and Aang's staff was knocked out of his hands.

When the dust settled, both Aang got up and ran at the King. Nat started to push herself off the ground and saw what Aang was doing. With an outstretched hand she shouted, "Aang, wait!"

The King then placed his hands near his hips and started to use earthbending as he stepped. As Aang kept coming, a jagged rock would burst out of the ground. The King kept it up as Aang kept coming. One caused Aang to trip and another caught him in the gut. The King commented as he had an outstretched fist, "Oh, you'll have to be a little more creative than that."

At that moment, Nat had used his attention on Aang to sneak up on him. She jumped out from behind a rock and tried to give a high kick to him, but he ducked underneath it and blocked a punch with his arm. When she came around with a roundhouse kick, he ducked and then with a circular motion of his arm he sent up a boulder to knock Nat off her feet. He looked down at her as she rolled and said, "And you need to focus on what's underneath you."

With another stomp, he brought up another boulder and then with a single palm strike he sent it crashing into her gut. Aang came down from the giant rock and formed an air sphere underneath him to ride as he sped towards the King. The King turned and became ready for the Avatar by pumping his left arm a little. This caused jagged rocks to pop out of the ground. Moving to dodge the rock, Aang moved to sped along the wall. When he came close he sent an air wave at the King.

Pushing down with his arms down into an 'x', he created a barrier to protect himself. The air wave smacked into the rock barrier, leaving the King unaffected. When the winds blew past, he poked his head around the corner and said with a smile, "Did someone leave the windows open?" His smile faded as he said, "It feels a little drafty in here." He glared as he said, "Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"

Aang jumped off the wall and readied himself as Natasha ran up to him and did the same. The King grunted as he used a foot to tip the rock barrier over. When it fell over, he stood on top and used it to make a wave of Earth. Aang pushed Nat out of the way and tried to jump over it, but it seemed to have a mind of its own as it stood taller and smacked into him. Aang was sent bouncing across the ground. The King then punched his fist into the ground and sent a trail of jagged rocks at him. Aang jumped backwards over them towards a wall. When he landed on the wall, he jumped off. Steve and the crystal encased siblings looked worried as they watched. Aang grabbed his staff as he rolled to a stop. He and Nat readied themselves as the King questioned, "How are you going to get me from way over there?"

Aang narrowed his eyes as he started to use his airbending to run fast towards the Earthbending King. He hastened his pace with every step. The King knew what to do as he ran forward, did a small jump and with an extension of his right leg he was able to make the hard ground into a sandy substance. The substance met Aang halfway and made him sink to his waist. The King smiled at this and then raised two boulders. He brought them sliding towards Aang. Quickly using his airbending in a quick circles as the rocks collided.

"Aang!" Nat shouted. But all was okay as Aang jumped over the boulders with his staff ready. He yelled as he used his staff to create another air wave. The air wave sent the King and his make shift board slid back to the wall under the platforms. He slammed into the wall with an, "Oof!"

Aang crouched with a stern frown plastered on his face. The King didn't give up so easily as he drew the rock towards Aang from behind. Aang looked behind him and then jumped over it. He grunted as he flew around it. Once cleared of the rock, he let it sail towards the King. The King gasped as the rock came straight at him. Putting an arm in front of him, the rock shattered into dust when it made contact with him. But him shielding himself gave an opening for Nat to come in with a kick to the side. The King grunted as he rolled. He came to a stop on his hands and knees, looked up and gasped when he saw Nat's foot about to kick him in the face. Thinking quickly, the King used earthbending to slide him out of the way as Natasha landed. Then with a slide of his of his foot, cracks started forming in the wall. Then with a retreating fist and a coming index palm, more cracks appeared in the floor. Then with a circular motion of his arms downwards, and then lifting them up, he pulled a section of the wall with the balcony and the floor out and moved it over his head. Aang yells in fear of this and an idea forms in his head. Then running fast with his staff across both shoulders in a circle to create a twister. The King strained to keep the rock suspended in the air. The wind in the arena whistled as it was drawn into the twister. Aang panted as he kept it up. With a strained grunt, the King threw the giant rock forward. The rock flies forward and Nat ducks, but is caught in the twister and flung the rock back at him, making her roll out of the way. The King yells in fear as the rock comes at him, and with a clap of his arms he's able to cut the rock in half to avoid getting smashed by it. As the rock parts, Aang comes flying at him with his staff over his head. The King backed up as he and Nat ready themselves. The King raised his hands above his head as if to surrender. Both Aang and Natasha smirk, thinking that they've won. But the King grinned and said, "Hmm." as he looked up. This confused both of them until a small pebble fell on Aang's head. They looked up to see that the King had a rock suspended over their heads. The King then said, "Well done, Avatar and Ms. You both fight with much fire in your hearts."

Turning to his right, the King threw the rock away. Then standing tall, the King placed both hands on his hips and disappeared into the ground. This kind of weirds both of them out as Nat comments, "This guy's just full of surprises."

They looked up to see the King burst out of the ground in front of Steve and the crystalized Sokka and Katara with a twist. Aang held a hand to Natasha, and when she took it, he used his airbending to make them jump up to the balcony.

Aang stood at the ready as the King said, "You've passed all my tests. Now you must answer one question."

This makes all five friends gasp as Aang angrily said, "That's not fair. You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests."

"Yeah," Steve said and pointed a finger at the King, "Now you're just making up new rules."

The King didn't seem that affected as he said, "Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything." Then he turned to Steve and said, "And I'm not changing anything. I just want to see if the Avatar has learned anything."

"Oh, come on!" Sokka complained. The King made the promise as he said, "Answer this on question and I will set your friends free. The remaining two I mean."

Then the King smiled as he asked, "What is my name?"

He smiled as Aang frowned in concern. The King looked to the two Water Tribe teens and said, "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes."

The King then walked out of the chamber leaving both Katara and Sokka worried. This leaves the five alone to think. Aang looks between his friends and asked, "How am I supposed to know his name?"

"Think about the challenges." Katara suggested, "Maybe it's some kind of riddle."

"Perhaps." Steve said as he placed a hand to his chin. Sokka then shouted, "I got it!"

"Yeah?" Aang asked hopefully. Sokka then told them what he thought, "He's an Earthbender, right? Rocky." This causes Steve to cough as Sokka said, "You know, because of all the rocks."

"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup." Katara said, trying to be supportive. Aang really started to think and said, "Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from a waterfall, I save his pet and I had a duel."

"And what did you learn?" Katara asked. Aang hated to do it, but he admitted it by saying, "Well, everything was different than I expected."

"And?" Katara asked right as a patch of crystal grew on the left side of her face. Aang thought about it more and said, "Well, they weren't straightforward.

"I think me and Nat can agree on that one." Steve said as he remembered. Aang then put a hand up to his chin as he said, "To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would."

Something then came to his mind and he pointed and said, "I know his name."

Back in the throne room, Aang stood before the King as he had on the outfit from yesterday. Aang then told him how he answered his question, "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges."

He smiled as he said, "As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities."

His Majesty let out an impressed giggle and snorted as Aang's eyes teared up and he said, "Bumi, you're a mad genius."

Then Aang ran up to Bumi and gave the crazy old man a hug. King Bumi looked down at his oldest friend saying, "Oh, Aang, it's good to see you." He placed a hand on the Airbender's head and said, "You haven't changed a bit." He took a good look at Aang and said, "Literally."

Steve, Natasha and the crystallizing siblings walked up to the touching moment. Katara's face was surrounded as she said, "Uh, over here."

"Little help?" Sokka asked as most of his face was covered. King Bumi clenched his fist and then pulled it back to make the genomite encasings explode off of them. Bumi caught one of the shards and said, "Genomite is made of rock candy." He took a bite out of it and said, "Delicious."

"So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?" Katara asked in disbelief as Momo came up and picked a shard and began licking it. King Bumi felt a little offended by the remark and said, "Who you calling old?" Then he had to admit it and deadpanned, "Okay, I'm old."

"I'll say." Nat whispered to Steve. He nudged her to make her show some respect.

"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked. King Bumi then gave his answer, "First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people." He giggled and snorted at the thought. But he became serious as he said, "But I do have a reason." King Bumi turned to Aang and said, "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone." He proved a point by saying, "It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai, especially with the coming threat of the other worldly organization of Hydra. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord and his new allies. And when you do," He puts on a smile as he said, "I hope you will think like a mad genius."

Aang smiled at the encouraging words and bowed to his friend. King Bumi looked his friends and said, "And it looks like you're in good hands. Especially with these two warriors by your side. You'll need your friends to help you defeat both the Fire Nation and Hydra."

Momo bounded over and jumped onto Aang's shoulder and wrapped his tail around the Airbender's head. King Bumi said, "And you'll need Momo, too."

"Thank you for your wisdom." Aang said in gratitude. But a mischievous grin grew on his face as he said, "But before we leave, I have a challenge for you."

Steve, Sokka, Katara and Natasha all looked to one another as they knew where this was probably going.

Not too much later, like they did one hundred years ago, King Bumi and Aang came speeding down a chute. Both of them shouted in joy as they went barreling down. In one section of the city, they crashed into a familiar cabbage merchant who screamed, "My cabbages!"

Author's Note: I know I said that I was going to take a break from Avenging Avatar, but now I've decided to complete Book One as fast as I can. Which means that I won't be updating the story as soon as I would like. But I will work on other stories as well. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	6. Chapter Six: Imprisoned

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _The group came to the Great City of Omashu._

 _The five friends slide down a chute through the city._

 _After three harrowing trials, Aang is reunited with his old friend Bumi, who had become King of Omashu. Bumi turned to his friend and said, "The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone."_

 _He looked serious as he said, "You must master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord." He put on a smile as he said, "And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."_

 _Before Aang and his friends left Omashu, he and Bumi took a quick ride down the chutes._

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Six: Imprisoned**

Some where in a forest within the Earth Kingdom, Aang was laying back against and overturned tree root while Katara laid a blanket on the ground and folded it. The sound of Momo chirping brought their attention to the returning three. Aang jumped off the root and said, "Great, you're back. What's for dinner?"

Both Steve and Natasha sighed in irritation as all four sat around Sokka. The Water Tribe teen ignored them and reached into the bag as he said, "We've got a few options." Then one at a time he pulled out a nut while saying, "First, round nuts. And some king of oval-shaped nuts." He pulled out what looked more like a rock, "And some rock-shaped nuts, that might just be rocks." He threw the nut away and it landed close to Momo who was chewing on a leaf. The lemur noticed the rock.

"Dig in." Sokka happily said. Both Aang and Katara picked a few up while Steve and Nat just sat back. Katara then questioned, "Seriously, what else you got?"

"We offered to do a little hunting for those of us who do eat me," Steve said with a deadpanned expression. Nat finished by saying in aggravation, "But when he found a whole bunch of nuts underneath a few trees," She then imitated his voice when she said, "'Aw a few nuts never hurt everybody?'" Nat looked to Sokka and said, "Yeah, right."

He looked to her with a frown. Katara then said, "Seriously, what else you got?"

Both Avengers huffed as Sokka started to look through his sack again.

Momo purred as he examined the rock. Picking it up in his hand the lemur looked closer at it. Then holding it with his left hand, he held it over a bigger rock and hit it with the small rock. When it didn't break he held it up with both hands and then bringing it down hard on the rock. As it made contact, a large booming sound could be heard through out the forest. It was so loud that it disturbed Appa from his nap.

Sokka then asked, now concerned, "What was that?!"

Momo looked down at the rock and then held out again then dropped it. Another huge boom rang out. The lemur then ran to a spot away from the noise.

Aang listened to where it came from and shouted, "It's coming from over there!"

Four of the five people started running towards it as Sokka tried to point out, "Shouldn't we run _away_ from huge booms, not toward them?"

When Momo flew after them, Sokka gave in and followed. They crept over to a log and looked over it to see what was going on. All five watched as a young man stomped his foot and with both hands, raised a boulder from its spot. When he brought it around, he used a thrust of his palm and sent the rock crashing into a wall.

Very quietly, Katara said, "An Earthbender."

"Let's go meet him." Aang suggested. Steve and Natasha didn't seem to on board with that idea, as the former said, "I'm not so sure that would be very wise."

"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously." Sokka warned. Nat agreed with him, "For once today, Sokka, I'm in full agreement with you."

"Uh, guys…" Aang tried to say. They were surprised to see that there was one in the group who was the brave one at the moment.

"Hello, there!" Katara said with her hands up to her mouth. She was friendly as she smiled and introduced herself, "I'm Katara. What's your name?"

The boy turned and gasped when he saw her. His face fell into a frown as he lowered his arms and let a rock fall to the ground. His reaction caused Katara's face to fall as well. The boy ran off and with a jump and a downward motion of his arms, he caused a landslide to block the path. The others walked over to Katara as Aang shouted, "Nice to meet you!"

"I just wanted to say hi." Katara said. Steve walked up to her and placed a shoulder as he said, "I don't think it was your friendliest that scared him off."

"Hey, that guy's got to be running somewhere." Aang realized, "Maybe we're near a village," He looked to the others and said, "and I bet that village has a market!"

Three of the five knew he had a point. Both girls' faces brightened as Katara happily said, "Which means no nuts for dinner!"

Both Aang and Katara took off running after the boy as Sokka complained, "Hey, I worked hard to get those nuts."

"It took you thirty minutes just to find them." Nat argued as she and Steve started running after them.

Momo chittered in agreement as he flew over Sokka's shoulder. He groaned and said, "Yeah, I hate 'em, too."

With slumped shoulders, he started walking behind the others.

They came to the village later in the afternoon. Momo sat at the top of a steep hill that over looked the village. Down in the village, while Steve and the others were buying supplies, Aang was with another shop keeper and said, "Great hat. I'll trade you some nuts for it."

Steve leaned to Nat and asked, "Did you happen to notice the kid's face before he ran off."

"Yeah." She nodded. Then she deduced, "That wasn't the face of a person who was scared of a stranger, that was the face of someone who was getting caught as if they were doing something that they weren't supposed to."

"My thoughts exactly." Steve said as the two stood behind Aang and Sokka as the former laughed about his newly acquired hat.

Katara looked past Aang and saw the kid from earlier. She ran to catch him, but he was already inside a building. She said, "Hey!" before running towards the shop. The other four notice her run off.

Inside the store, the boy greets his mother behind the counter by saying, "Hi, Mom."

The woman turned towards he son and questioned, "Where have you been, Haru?" She then scolded, "You're late. Get started on your chores."

The door to the shop opened and Katara walked through it. She saw the boy and said, "Hey." Haru recognized the voice as she said, "You're that kid."

Haru gasped when he turned and saw her standing in the door. She then asked, "Why did you run away before?"

He knew that his mother was listening and wouldn't be pleased about something. He tried to play it off by saying, "Uh… You must have me confused with some other kid."

"No, she doesn't." Aang said as he, Sokka, Steve and Natasha walk through the door. He came into the room and said, "We saw you earthbending."

Haru and his mother gasp when he said it aloud. Haru's mother pulls the three lingering by the door and shuts it and the window. Haru's mother turned to her son and questioned, "They saw you doing what?!"

"They're crazy, Mom." Haru tried to defend himself. He pointed at the group and said, "I mean, look at how they're dressed." He looked Steve and Nat over and said, "Especially these two."

They looked themselves over with Aang tilting his hat and the others looking at their outfits. But Haru's mother knew better as she spoke in a tone to remind her son of something, "You know how dangerous that is." She came closer as she said, "You know what would happen if _they_ caught _you_ earthbending."

A banging noise came from the door and a man shouted from the outside, "Open up!"

The man kept pounding the door as Sokka went to the window and lightly raised the shutters. He didn't like what he saw, a line of three Fire Nation soldiers, as he whispered, "Fire Nation!" He turned to the others and said, "Act natural!"

Haru's mother opened the door for the soldiers and they stepped in. The soldier looked at the people around the room. Haru and Sokka were looking at an apple, Katara was stuffing her mouth with berries, Steve and Nat held burlap sacks filled with grain against their bodies and Aang was trying to stand casually with a hand on a barrel. His act fell apart when the barrel's lid gave way and his arm fell into the water with a, "Aha!"

"What do you want? I've already paid you this week." Haru's mother questioned the unimpressed leader of the trio. The leader looked to her with questioning look and said, "The tax just doubled." He bent a small into his hand and smirked as he said, "We wouldn't want an accident, would we?" Everyone looked to the soldier in shock as he kept the flame bound but threatened, "Fire- it's sometimes so hard to control." He put it out as he looked to the woman to see if the message was clear.

Her stern face was replaced by a sad frown as she gave in. She went behind the desk and brought out the money box. She opened it to show them their earnings. Placing the coins in his hand, he picked out the ones that wouldn't work and dropped them on the floor as he said, "You can keep the copper ones."

The soldier smirked as he walked out of the store, aware or not about the glares that were sent his way. Haru's mother bends down to pick the coins up as the soldier shut the door. Sokka had a raised eyebrow and said, "Nice guy." He turned to the two and asked, "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years." Haru's mother answered. Then she explained why they came here, "Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships."

"They're thugs." Haru said as he kept leaned against the counter. He tells what the Fire Nation does to the people, "They steal from us and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it."

"Quiet, Haru." His mother scolded, "Don't talk like that."

"But Haru's an Earthbender. He can help." Katara said, trying to spark a little hope. But Haru's mother wouldn't have it as she said, "Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village." She looked to her son and said, "He must never use his abilities."

The group was really shocked by this, especially Katara as she softly questioned, "How can you say that? Haru has a gift." She stepped up and said, "Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend." She said proudly as she placed a hand to her heart and said, "It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand." Haru's mother said with a shake of her head. Steve took a step forward and said, "Then please help us to understand why Haru shouldn't be able to use his earthbending to fight back."

"He's right." Katara said, "We understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

Haru's mother wasn't hesitant when she said, "They could take Haru away, like they took his father."

The group all looked to Haru with saddened expressions. Katara could feel almost the same for him as she thought. Haru looked down and closed his eyes as he thought to himself.

Later, at Haru's farmhouse, Aang led Appa into the domed barn. As they made themselves comfortable, Haru said, "My mom said you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning."

"Thanks, I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay." Aang said. As mentioned, the bison had his mouth completely stuffed with a huge wad of hay. He stopped to look behind him, but then started munching on the hay again.

Outside the barn, Haru and Katara took a walk. Katara felt bad about what happened at the store and tried to make things right by saying, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't know about your father."

"That's okay." Haru said as if it didn't really bother him. He thought about his father as he told her, "It's funny, the way you were talking, back in the store." Haru looked at Katara and she back at him as he said, "It reminded me of him."

"Thanks." Katara smiled and looked down. He told her a little something about his father, "My father was very courageous. When the Fire Nation invaded, he and the other Earthbenders were outnumbered ten to one, but they fought back anyway."

"He sounds like a great man." Katara told him. They came to a spot that had a view of the village as he continued, "After the attack, they rounded up my father and every other Earthbender and took them away." He kneeled down and sadly said, "We haven't seen them since."

"So that's why you hide your earthbending." Katara said in realization. He was reluctant as he said, "Yeah." He picked up two stones and told her, "Problem is," He twirled the stones in his hand as he said, "the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending." Letting the stones fall into his palm, he crushed the stones into dust. He looked up as he sadly said, "He taught me everything I know."

Katara sat down next to him and placed a hand on her necklace as she said, "See this necklace?"

Haru turned to her as she explained, "My mother gave it to me."

"It's beautiful." Haru complimented. She thought it was nice, but was said when she said, "I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid." She looked down as she said, "This necklace is all I have left of her."

"It's not enough, is it?" Haru asked her. Katara only said, "No."

Later that evening, both Katara and Haru were walking by the mines as he turned to her and asked, "I am curious about you and your group. Mostly those two adults." He gave her a curious glance before asking, "What's their story?"

She was about to come up with an answer, when a loud rumble happens by one of the tunnels. Someone calls out, "Aah! Help!"

"The mines!" Haru said before they take off running.

An old man groaned as he was partially covered by the rubble. He looked scared as a loose stream of dirt started to cover the rest of him. He held his arm out and cried, "Help me!"

He groaned as the collapsing earth crumbled. Katara and Haru both ran up to help him. Haru pressed his back against the rock wall and tried to keep it from falling further while Katara tried to pull the old man out. After two tugs she said, "It's not working." She looked to Haru and said, "We have to get help."

"There's no time. Pull harder!" Haru argued as the rocks above the support beam started to give way. Katara thought of something as she said, "Haru, there's a way _you_ can help him."

Haru knew what she was talking about and with a grimace he said, "I can't."

"Please, there's no one around to see you. It's the only way." Katara told him. Haru thought it over, and feared what might happen, but knew that only he could save the old man. Moving away from the rock, he took a stance. Placing a hand with his thumb and the other fingers curled, leaving his index finger straight he was able to grab hold of the rocks with his will. Katara was slightly amazed by this as Harun then did a small spin and with both fists caused the rubble around and falling to be blasted into the tunnel. The rocks, dirt and wooden supports flew into the tunnel. Katara was so amazed and proud as she said, "Haru, you did it!"

He smiled as he moved to help Katara with the old man. Picking the old man by both his arms, Haru and Katara moved to get him away from the mines. The old man groaned weakly as they helped him away.

They didn't notice; however, that a cloaked figure watched the whole thing from the trees. And unbeknownst to him, another cloaked figure stood in another tree far from the first figure.

It was late at night when Katara rejoined the others back at the barn. Momo churred as he looked out the window before jumping on the back of the bison. Katara sat on her sleeping bag as she told them what happened, "It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to help that old man."

"You must have really inspired him." Aang said as he laid on his stomach on the bison's head with Momo on his back. Steve was leaned up against the wall as he said, "I'll say, it must have been a really big situation to get him to do it."

"I guess so." Katara said modestly as she looked at the lantern. Sokka looked to the others and said, "Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn." He turned his head to sleep.

"Dawn?!" Katara questioned. She then asked, "Can't we sleep in for once?"

"I'm not too sure that that's a good idea." Nat said from the bison's back. Sokka was in full agreement as he said, "Absolutely not." He turned to look back and said, "This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang, we'll be eating fire balls for breakfast." He turned his head back around as he said, "Good night."

"I'd rather eat fire balls than nuts." Katara said with a smirk. Both Steve and Aang snickered at her joke. Sokka; however, didn't find it funny as he looked back and sternly said, "Good night." And turned back around for the last time that night.

All three started giggling before Katara blew out the lantern.

Later that night, a foot comes walking up the trail followed by others. The group in the barn was completely oblivious to what was going on. They carried lanterns as they made their way. Every one slept soundly in the barn as it happened. The soldiers were led by the soldier from earlier in the shop. They came up to the door of a house, and the soldier knocked on it three times. Unfortunately, Haru was the one to answer it. He gasped when he saw the soldiers. The old man from the mine stood in front them as he exclaimed with an accusing finger, "That's him! That's the Earthbender."

The soldier pushed the man out of the way. Haru yelled as the soldier grabbed him by both shoulders and yanked him out of the building.

The next morning, the sun shone bright as Katara walked out of the barn to get some fresh water. She placed a jar next to the spicket and took a stance. Reaching her mind to the water, she pulled it out from the spicket and made it circle it through the air and sent it into the jar. She picked it up with a smile, but her smile faded when she noticed Haru's mother standing on the hill looking out to the horizon. She turned to Katara as her eyes began to water. Katara's eyes widened from the shock and she dropped the jar. The jar burst into many pieces and allowed the water to splash out.

Katara ran into the barn and shouted, "They took him! They took Haru away!"

"What?!" Aang questioned. She rambled as she explained how it happened, "The old man turned him into the Fire Nation! It's all my fault. I forced him into earthbending."

"Easy." Steve said as he came and placed a hand on her shoulder. Katara looked at him and shouted, "How can you tell me to take it easy! This is a very bad situation!"

"Slow down, Katara." Sokka said as he came closer and placed a hand on her other shoulder and asked, "When did this happen?"

Katara calmed down as she started to explain, "Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight."

Both Steve and Sokka sighed as the former said, "Then I'm not sure there's much we can do now?"

"He's right, it's too late to track him. He's long gone." Sokka agreed. Nat scoffed at this, looked at Steve and said, "This coming from the guy who went behind enemy lines to save the lives of his friends. I cannot believe you aren't going to try and save Haru."

"He's not going to save him." Katara said and pointed to Steve. Then she turned and said, "And we don't need to track him. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

This concerned the rest of the group as Aang asked, "And why would they do that?"

"Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending." Katara declared as she stared out the door with a stern face. The other four look to each other in worry before looking back at her.

Later, back over by the mines, Steve, Sokka, Katara all pushed a boulder onto one of the mine's vents. Sokka then commended on Katara's thinking when he said, "I thought you were crazy at first, Katara, but this might work."

They placed the boulder over the vent as he explained the plan, "There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines." He pointed to the nearby boulder, "All Aang has to do is an air current from that vent to this one right here." He has a smile on his face while saying, "The boulder levitates, and ta-da! Fake earthbending."

"And once you've been captured, I'll be with you the entire step of the way." Natasha said with a supporting hand on the girl's shoulder. Katara gave the spy a smile. Then, Katara looked over to the bigger rock and asked, "Aang, did you get all that?"

"Sure, sure, I got it." Aang nonchalantly said as he sat cross-legged while he sent a small blast of air at a butterfly with Momo watching. The other four were not impressed by his laid back personality as they all sent him deadpanned stares. Sokka then asked, "Do you remember your cue?"

"Yeah, yeah, just relax." Aang said as he continued to play with the butterfly, "You're taking all the fun out of this."

Steve facepalmed in annoyance while Nat groaned from this as Sokka then skeptically questioned, "By "this" do you mean intentionally being captured an army of ruthless firebenders?"

"Exactly. That's fun stuff." Aang said as he kept it up. Both Avengers huffed in annoyance.

Sokka then saw a group of Fire Nation soldiers and alerted the group, "Here they come. Get in your places."

Aang sat up as he was then joined by Steve and Natasha, and they waited. The trio of soldiers came closer to the spot. When they were close enough, Sokka and Katara angrily marched up to each other and bumped into each other. In an acting deep voice, Sokka said, "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!"

This made the guards confused as Katara, through acting, angrily questioned, "How dare you call me pipsqueak," She followed up with her own insult, "you giant-eared cretin!"

"What did you call me?" Sokka questioned as they both had their arms like a gorilla's. Steve and Natasha peeked from around the rock and, like the soldiers, weren't convinced by the acting. Nat leaned a little closer and said, "I've seen bad acting before, but this takes the cake."

Steve nodded in agreement as the 'argument' continued with Katara saying, "A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things. Do herds of animals use them for shade?" She placed her hands by her ears to add to the insult.

"You better back off!" Sokka yelled. Then he leaned a little closer, and placed a hand to where they couldn't see and said, "Seriously, back off."

"I will not back off!" Katara shouted as she made herself taller. She then said, "I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are."

Steve and Natasha giggled a little at this one. Sokka took a quick glance at his ears before getting back into character and said with a stink eye, "That's it! You're going down."

"I'll show you whose boss," Katara said with a pointing finger. Then she made a dramatic earthbending pose as she shouted, "earthbending style!"

She had slid over to the boulder, but nothing happened. Katara felt embarrassed as everyone looked awkward at her. Steve and Natasha looked down to Aang and silently gasped when they saw he was playing with the butterfly again. Steve nudged the Airbender right as Katara shouted, "I said earthbending style!"

Aang reacted to both the nudge and the distorted voice by sitting up and with both a jump and both hands, he sent a huge blast of air into the vents. The ground under the boulder starts to shake as the chunk of earth starts to levitate. And on the other side of the boulder, Momo had his arms raised. The lead Fire Nation soldier pointed and shouted, "That lemur! He's earthbending!"

This caused Steve, Aang and Natasha to crash onto their backs in disbelief. Momo looked over at them with his tongue sticking out. Sokka then pointed to Katara as she looked to them and said, "No, you idiot, it's the girl!"

"Oh, of course." The soldier said as he blushed in embarrassment. The boulder crashed to the ground as Sokka acted again and said, "I'll hold her." And placed his hands on her shoulders. He whispered into her ear, "You've got twelve hours to find Haru. We'll be right behind you."

The soldiers then took Katara into their custody. Sokka watched as they led her away. She took one look back to her friends as Aang with Momo on his shoulder, Steve and Natasha joined her brother. Sokka pinched his earlobes and pulled on them, making a small squeaking sound. He turned to the lemur and said, "Momo, _you_ have some big ears."

The lemur's ears dropped to this. Nat slapped Sokka upside the head to make the lemur feel better.

Later that day back in the village, Katara had been led to a cart with the soldiers. The soldiers had fitted their captured 'Earthbender' with a brown prison rags. She and the others rode in a cart to a Fire Navy ship. Aang and Sokka stood in front of Steve had their heads down as all three wore hats to blend in. They looked up to watch Katara and Natasha carefully hanging on to the back of the cart head towards the ship.

From up in the air, Steve, Sokka and Aang rode on Appa as they watched the ship in the cover of the clouds. Appa growled as he continued to fly. They looked ahead to see that the ship was heading for some rig in the middle of the ocean. The rig rose out of the ocean like some kind of metallic creature, black smoke coming from its top. From the saddle, Sokka offered some comforting words, "She'll be fine, you guys. Katara knows what she's doing."

Aang didn't say anything before Appa turned and climbed higher into the sky.

The sun set over the rig as the captured Earthbenders were brought on board. A man came up to greet them. Unlike the other soldiers, though he wore the same armor, he wore no head coverings but had a spot of hair tied at the top of his head. He said, "Earthbenders, it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden." He tried to sound pleasant as he said, "I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests." He smirked as he looked over the line up. He then said, "And I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host." He walked to the end with Katara and said, "You will succeed here if you simply abide…"

He was cut off when a prisoner started to cough. Nat looked from the railing of the ship as she waited to see what the warden would do. The warden's face looked irritated before he did a spin and shot a flame fist at the man's feet. The Earthbender jumped back in fear to this. With his hands on his hips, the warden leans forward and questions, "What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him?" With a swipe of his right hand, he ordered, "Take him below!"

A soldier came and took the poor man away as the warden said, "One week in solitary will improve his manners."

Katara and the hidden Natasha watched in disgust as the warden continued, "Simply treat me with the courtesy I give you," He came up to Katara who stared at him in defiance, and leaned down close, "and we'll get along famously."

The Earthbenders and Katara were led across the rig as the warden gave them a tour. The warden told them, "You will notice, Earthbenders, that this rig is made entirely of metal. You are miles away from any rock of earth." Katara looked to the Earthbenders who were already here as they were working on the rig. Nat was following close behind as she carefully made her way behind them. Katara looked out over the horizon as the warden then told them, "So, if you have any illusions about employing that brutish savagery that passes for bending among you people, forget them. It is impossible." They came before a huge door as the warden ended his tour by saying, "Good day."

He walked off as Katara and the others were led through the tunnel. Before she was led inside, Katara looked back and saw Natasha hiding behind something as she nodded to the Waterbender. Katara smiled before she disappeared down the tunnel. The door closed behind them as they walked to the other side. Katara was the last one through the tunnel as sliding doors slid closed one by one. She turned as the last one slid shut. When she looked out into the courtyard, the scene around her was just depressing. Earthbenders who struggled could be seen just about every where in the courtyard. She began to look for Haru. She didn't have to look long as he turned his head and called her name, "Katara?"

She turned to him and a smile formed on her face and said, "Haru!"

Katara ran over and wrapped her arms around him. Though he was glad to see her, he was confused as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"It's my fault you were captured." She said with a guilty look. She then said about how she could make it up to him, "I came to rescue you."

"So you got yourself arrested?" Haru asked. She admitted, "It was the only way to find you."

"You've got guts, Katara. I'll give you that." Haru said as he crossed his arms with an impressed smirk. He thought of something and then said, "Come on. There's someone I want you to meet."

He led Katara over to a group of prisoners who were eating and said, "Katara, this is my father, Tyro." Introducing his father to her he said, "Dad, this is Katara."

"It's an honor to meet you." Katara said with a smile on her face and a bow in respect. Being a gentleman, Tyro reached down and grabbed a fresh bowl of some sort of stew. He held it to her and said, "Have some dinner, Katara."

She took the bowl into her hands, but when she saw it, she made a face and said, "Ugh!"

"It's not as bad as it looks." Tyro said as if to make is sound not terrible. She sat down and then tried some. But it was obvious that she didn't like it one bit as she blushed and went, "Ugh!"

"It's still pretty bad though." Tyro said with a smile, and Katara smiled as if not to offend. Two men came over and one placed a hand on Tyro's as he said, "Tyro, the prisoners are complaining there aren't enough blankets to go around."

"I'll talk to the guards." Tyro offered. Then he said, "In the meantime, make sure the elderly are taken care of. The rest of us will simply have to hope for warmer weather."

The man nodded before walking off, leaving the second man. This man had short black hair on his head, and when he spoke there was a bit of an accent to it as he looked to Katara and Haru, "So, Haru, I've see you've found yourself a, girlfriend."

Both teenagers blushed at this and they were both quick to say, "She's/He's not my girlfriend/boyfriend."

"Don't mind Nikol, here." Tyro said as he gave the man a stern look. He then explained, "Nikol here's one who likes to make jokes."

The man laughed before he put his hands up in a calming manner and said, "I was only kidding. But I must say that it is nice to see another friendly soul around here."

Katara nervously chuckled before turning to Tyro and said, "If you don't mind me asking, what's your escape plan?"

"Excuse me?" Tyro asked. The question however got Ikol curious. Katara then said, "You know, the plan to get everyone off the rig." When he didn't say anything she tried guessing, "What is it? Mutiny? Sabotage?"

"Now, both of those do sound like my kind of plans." Nikol said with a smirk as he sat with the group. Their faces fell however, when Tyro said, "The plan? The plan is to survive- wait out this war. Hope that, one day, some of us can get back home and forget this ever happened."

"How can you say that?" Katara questioned in disbelief, "You sound like you've already given up."

"Katara, I admire you courage, and I envy your youth," Tyro said with a frown, "but people's lives are at stake here. The warden is a ruthless man, and he won't stand for any rebellion." He looked down in shame as he said, "I'm sorry, but we're powerless."

Nikol leaned forward and said to Katara, "Now what do you have to say about that?"

Katara gave them a stern look and stood up saying, "We'll see about that."

She clenched a fist before walking off with Tyro watching. She climbed to the top of a table, picked up a lid and a spoon, and started banging them together. After a few good clangs, she shouted, "Earthbenders! You don't know me, but I now of you." She looked around the courtyard to all of them as she tried to inspire them, "Every child in my Water Tribe village was rocked to sleep with stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and courageous Earthbenders who guard its border."

From atop the wall, the warden was listening in to what she was saying. He stopped a guard with a hand so he could hear her attempt, "Some of you may think that the Fire Nation has made you powerless."

Natasha rounded a corner and was able to listen to Katara from her position, "Yes, they have taken away your ability to bend, but they can't take away your courage. And it is your courage they should truly fear," everyone looked at Katara as she made speech sound more inspiring with every word, "because it runs deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any oceans that keeps you far from home." The Earthbenders clearly heard her as she said, "It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are. Hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away." With her fist raised in the air she tried to rally them to fight, "The time to fight back is now! I can tell you the Avatar has returned! So remember your courage, Earthbenders. Let us fight for our freedom!"

But her face fell when she saw that no one would join her. She looked to them to see if they would get their courage back. She looked down in disappointment. Haru and Nikol looked at her with saddened faces while Tyro just looked away. Natasha sighed before she slunk back into the shadows to see if she could do any recon. The warden turned and walked away from the courtyard. Katara just looked on amongst the captive Earthbenders.

Later that night, the prison's search light circled around it tower, keeping a look out for ships or escapee's. They circled around the prison. Katara laid on a cot with three other prisoners. On the outside of the prison, Aang climbed onto the ledge and a high heeled boot stepped in front of him. He looked up to see Natasha holding a hand for him. They made it to where Katara was sleeping. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her awake. She woke with a gasp and looked. Both Aang and Nat placed a finger in front of their lips to keep her quiet. Quietly, they brought her back to the extraction point where Steve, Sokka, Momo and Appa floated over the water.

"Your twelve hours are up. Where's Haru? We've got to get out of here." Sokka quietly asked. Nat rubbed the back of her head and whispered, "Yeah, there might be a problem with that."

"What kind of problem, exactly?" Steve said with a questioning look. As Aang made his way through the bars, Katara said, "I can't."

"We don't have much time." Sokka said as he held out his hand. Then he pointed out, "There are guards everywhere. Get on."

But Katara didn't move from where she stood with a hand on a bar. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Aang noticed this and asked, "Katara, what's wrong?"

"I know that sort of look." Steve said as he started to stand up.

Nat stood next to Katara as she said, "I'm not leaving."

The Aang and Sokka looked to one another in confusion and disbelief while Steve remembered doing something like this once before. Katara stood strong as she said, "I'm not giving up on these people."

The boys joined Katara and Nat on the side while Appa continued to float near the edge with Appa on his head. Sokka then quietly questioned his sister, "What do you mean, you're not leaving?"

"We can't abandon these people." Katara said, "There has to be a way to help them."

"Maybe she's right." Aang sided with her. Steve looked to her and said, "She is right."

This makes the kids look to the super soldier while Nat gave a small smile as he said, "I don't know why I wasn't fully on board with this plan, but I should have been, since I have done it once before."

"What do you say, Sokka?" Aang asks. Sokka didn't seemed to convinced as he said, "I say you're both crazy."

"Maybe," A new voice joined them. They looked to see someone leaning against the bars as he said, "but then again, crazy might be just something you need."

"Nikol!" Katara said as she recognized him. He placed a finger up to his lips and whispered, "We may want to move."

They soon understood what he meant as the spotlight came close to them. But Sokka wasn't willing to stay at first as he said, "Last chance. We need to leave- now."

"No." Katara sternly said. With a shake of his head he then said, "I hate when you get like this."

The spotlight passed over them again. Nikol then said, "Come on, then. We had better hide."

The crouching four, stood and followed Nikol back into the bars. Aang stayed behind a moment to tell Appa with a whisper, "Go hide."

Aang stood and turned back to the prison as Momo jumped on his shoulder. Aang ran inside just as Appa took off. Two Fire Nation soldiers walked around the perimeter where they group was and saw something flying into the night. One of the soldiers raised the lantern and shouted, "Look!"

In another part of the rig, the two guards had come to tell the warden what they had just seen. The warden then turned and said, "Tell me exactly what you saw."

"Well, sir, it looked like a flying bison." The soldier on the warden's left told him. The warden was confused by this, "What?!"

"It was a giant flying buffalo, sir, with an empty saddle" The other guard said. This confused the warden further as he questioned, "Which was it- a buffalo or a bison?"

"Uh… I'm not sure what the difference is," the first guard said, "but that's not really the point, is it, sir?"

This angered the warden as he said, "I'll decide what the point is, fool!"

Then grabbing the guard, he sent the screaming man into the water. The guard landed in the ocean with a splash. The warden turned to the other guard and ordered, "You!" The guard looked to the warden in fear and stand at attention as he said, "Wake up the captain. Search the entire rig."

"Sir?" The guard said as his superior started walk away. The warden stopped and asked in an irritated voice, "What?"

"That was the captain you just threw overboard, so…" The guard revealed. This frustrated the warden even more as he ordered, "Then wake up someone I haven't thrown overboard, and search the rig." He began to think as he said, "There's something going on here, and I don't like it."

In another part of the prison rig, the group hid amongst some crates. Momo peeked from the top of a crate for danger but ducked back down. Sokka then said, "We don't have much time. What are we going to do?"

"There's always time for a quick plan." Nikol said with a smirk. Aang then looked to the ground as he said, "I wish I knew how to make a hurricane."

This made four of the six look at him with comical, yet concerned expressions. Aang formed a smirk and he said, "The warden would run away, and we'd steal his keys."

"I like the way this kid thinks. Somewhat original." Nikol said as he chuckled. They ignored him as Sokka questioned as he pointed out, "Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?"

"I'm just tossing ideas around." Aang said with a shrug of his shoulder. Katara felt down as she said, "I tried talking the Earthbenders into fighting back, but it didn't work." She became serious as she said, "If there was just a way to help them help themselves."

"But how would we do that?" Steve asks, "Wouldn't they need something that they could use?"

"Yeah, for that," Sokka said, 'they need some kind of earth or some rock. Something they can bend."

But Katara thought of the rig and thought about how they couldn't use it, "But this entire place is made of metal."

The group seemed at a loss as they continued to think, until Nikol looked up and saw something. Then he nudged Aang and motioned with his head towards. Aang looked to what he was implying and when he saw it, he said, "No, it's not. Look at the smoke."

They looked towards the tall smoke stacks as he said, "I but they're burning coal. In other words… earth." They saw that he was right.

"Good thinking, Aang." Steve commended. Aang shook his head and said, "It wasn't just me," He gestured to Nikol and said, "Nikol was the one who saw the smoke stacks."

Nikol smiled in gratitude at this.

Dawn was soon approaching over the rig. Four of the six waited by a vent. Katara grew worried as she said, "It's almost dawn. We're running out of time." She looked to her brother and asked, "You sure this is going to work?"

"Don't be so quick to doubt a plan when it's in motion, my dear." Nikol said as he rejoined them. Cap and Nat gave him questionable looks as he carried with him a spear. Natasha asked, "How'd you get that exactly?"

Nikol looked to the spear and shrugged as he said, "I have my ways."

"Won't you be able to use your earthbending when the time is right?" Cap asked as he put on his helmet. Nikol chuckled as he said, "Let's just say that I haven't had much practice with my 'skills' as others would." Twirling the spear in his hands he smirked as he said, "I am much more skilled with something like this anyway."

Captain America and Natasha didn't ask anymore questions as they readied themselves. Katara wasn't entirely sure about the plan as she asked, "Sokka?"

"It should work." Sokka said as he told the layout of the plan, "These vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're going to do the same thing, but on a much bigger scale."

(Inside the rig)

 _Sokka: There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the silo, and the whole system in ventilated._

One by one, Aang shut all the vents to the base of the silo, all but one.

 _Sokka: Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending, the coal only has one place to go-_

Aang jumps down and uses his airbending to blast the coal through the open vent shaft and back to-

 _Sokka: right back here._

(Outside the vent)

But they were soon interrupted when a soldier shouted, "There's the intruder!"

Soon, all five of them found themselves surrounded by six Fire Nation soldiers with spears. The group took a stance as Sokka shouted, "Stay back! I'm warning you!"

"That's it, Sokka. Try and make yourself sound dangerous." Nikol said as he twirled his spear and then held it in the ready position.

Tyro tried to save them by shouting, "Katara, stop! You can't win this fight!"

Katara and Haru look to one another in fear for the other.

"Listen to him well, child." The warden said as he stepped onto the scene. Katara turned toward him and his Firebenders as he said, "You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."

The five soldiers that had them surrounded started to slowly move in to apprehend them. But five noticed that the vent and the ground around it started rumbling. They looked to the vent and gasped when they saw pieces of coal starting to shoot up. A huge pillar of coal shot up into the air and feel back to the ground in a huge heap. Both sides, good and evil looked at the tide turner. Everyone looked at the huge pile of coal. Aang, covered in coal dust, jumped out of the vent and landed on the top of the pile dramatically. The moment was ruined as he started coughing and the dust came off.

Katara ran up the pile and turned to the Earthbenders, trying once more to rally them, "Here's your chance, Earthbenders!" Picking up a piece of coal high she showed them, "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"

Haru moved to stand with her, but Tyro, a loving father, stopped him from doing so. Some of the Earthbenders backed away in fear of what might happen. Nikol came up beside her and shouted, "Come now, you have what you need to fight back! Are you going to act like cowards and not take the opportunity!"

But the Earthbenders still didn't fight back. The warden started to laugh at Katara and Nikol's attempts and said, "Foolish duo. You two thought a few inspirational words and coal would change these people?"

He pointed to the Earthbenders and said, "Look at these blank, hopeless faces."

Katara looked to them, each Earthbender looked down in despair, as the warden continued, "Their spirits were broken a long time ago." He looked to Katara as he said, "Oh, but you still believe in them. How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl." Katara felt like her heart was breaking as he said, "You failed."

Steve, Natasha and Nikol looked to the warden with glares. With a smirk, the warden turned and walked away. But he didn't get far as a coal piece was sent flying to the back of his head. He growls in anger as he looks to the one who threw that.

Haru stood defiant with a glare as he levitated three more pieces of coal with slight movements of his fingers. The group smiled at this new found courage. But the warden wasn't as he reared his fists back and threw a vertical double fire fist at Haru. But before the flames could touch him, a wall of coal placed itself between him and the fire. Haru looked to the wall of coal and then to his father in a stance with his left leg out and both of his arms up. The side of the flames still glowed from the impact of the flames as the warden and his Firebenders took a stance. He then ordered, "Show no mercy!"

Then simultaneously, he and his soldiers stepped forward and shot a huge stream of fire at them. Tyro, Haru and four other Earthbenders moved a stream of coal and formed another wall of coal to block the flames. They strained to keep the wall together as Tyro shouted, "For the Earth Kingdom…" All five stood on one leg and leaned backward as the readied the coal to slam down as he shouted, "Attack!"

They slammed their palms onto rig floor and sent the wall of coal towards the Firebenders in a wave. The warden and a few of his soldiers used firebending to shield themselves while others used their arms to cover their bodies. Both sides started yell war cries as they readied themselves for a fight. Cap removed his shield from his arm and threw it a guard on top of the wall. The vibranium metal smacked against the guard and made him topple off the wall. When another came at him, he ducked under the spear and caught the shield when it came back to him. He brought it up and broke the soldiers spear, and then with a jump kick he knocked the soldier down. Nikol charged at three of the guards with spears and twirled his own before he swung it at them. They blocked the strike, but it proved to be their mistake when he spun and swept the spear at their exposed legs. All three fell on their backs as Nikol stepped on their stomachs to knock the wind out of them. Nat ran at a Fire Nation soldier and slid on the ground when he threw a high fireball. With a kick to the stomach, she sent him kneeling down. She stood up and delivered an elbow to his back.

Earthbenders ran at other Fire Nation soldiers and would block before the Firebenders could strike and moving their arm out of the way, they would blast the soldiers back with a mound of coal. When the Firebenders threw a flow of fire, the Earthbenders would duck and strike with their own attack. While the fighting continued down in the courtyard, soldiers watched from above. Some Earthbenders would raise and give a few pieces of coal to another Earthbender that would launch them at the Fire Nation. The pieces knocked a few down. Sokka ran ahead and moved around a spear to avoid getting skewered and chopped off the head with his boomerang. He threw the spearheads up to Momo who carried it with his back feet and tail. Sokka and Momo repeated the process with three more guards.

Tyro and Haru worked together for this next move. Mirroring their actions, they raised a good sized mound of coal from the pile and formed it into a ball. Then bringing it down together with both palms out stretched, they condensed the mound of coal into a hardened sphere. The warden kept shooting at anything that wasn't one of his soldiers. Tyro and Haru then launched the condensed ball with a spin and a kick at the wall. The boulder of coal sailed and smacked into the wall. The coal boulder was able to break through to the outside the wall. It impact caused two soldiers on the top of the wall to fall. With the breach, Tyro shouted, "Get to the ship! We'll hold them off!"

"Do not let them escape!" The warden ordered. Firebenders came to his side and they started throwing more fire. Two of them were subdued by Cap who socked one in the face and Nikol as he smacked the flat of the spear's blade into the Firebender's face. Before they ran out, Aang, Sokka, Katara and Natasha stopped to stay and fight, as the former decided to go on the attack. He swirled his hands together and formed it into a chute and shouted, "Guys, throw me some coal!"

Before they did, Katara looked to Cap and Nikol and shouted, "Guys, heads up!"

Both men took cover behind the shield as Katara and the other two dropped a few lumps of coal into the wind tunnel. Dropping a few lumps in, they were sent at the Fire Nation soldiers. Then Sokka had a smirk on his face as he dropped a huge pile of coal into the wind tunnel. Aang braced himself as they were launched. The pieces of coal then smacked into the warden and the two Firebenders next to him, knocking them out. The warden slumped down to the ground.

Behind the shield, Nikol and Cap could feel the smacks of the coal as they hit the vibranium. Nikol looked to Cap and said, "Now this is what I call a good shield."

Steve just nodded his thanks. The warden was starting to come around when pieces of coal. He was confused as he said, 'Huh?"

He and a few other Firebenders were dragged along as the pieces of coal came together. Haru, Tyro and a third Earthbender mimicked their actions as they lifted the warden and six other Firebenders in a bed of coal. Then with a swing of their arms they moved the bed of coal towards the edge. Soon, the warden and his Firebenders hovered over the ocean. The warden tried to beg for mercy, "No! Please! I can't swim!"

"Don't worry. I hear cowards float." Tyro said before he relaxed his bending stance by waving his arms in a circle and placing both palms gently down before him. The Firebenders screamed as they fell into the water. The warden then tried to grab something as he screamed and fell into the ocean.

The escapees used the available ships to sail back to the mainland with Appa right beside them. Katara smiled as she and the Earthbenders sailed to freedom. Haru moved forward a little and then said, "I want to thank you for saving me-" Katara turned to him, "for saving us."

"All it took was a little coal." Katara blushed and rubbed the back of her head. Haru knew better when he said, "It wasn't the coal, Katara." She felt touched when he said, "It was you."

She lightly blushed at this. Tyro came over and placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe. My family and everyone here, owes you much."

"So, I guess you're going home now." Katara said smiling. Determined now more than ever, Tyro said, "Yes. To take back my village." He looked to the other Earthbenders and shouted in courageous determination with a raised fist, "To take back all of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"

All the freed Earthbenders cheered to this. Haru asked, "Come with us."

"I can't." Katara turned and told him. She then told him way, "Your mission is to take back your home; ours is to get Aang to the North Pole."

Both looked to the swimming bison with Aang, her brother and the two Avengers. Haru then asked, "That's him, isn't it? The Avatar." They watched as he had a lump of coal in an air sphere and started teasing Momo with it. The fun ended when the lemur ran into his arms and he held him into the air.

Haru then thanked her by saying, "Katara, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again." He looked at her and said, "I only wish there was some way…"

She knew what he was talking about and reached for her necklace as she said, "I know."

But she didn't feel it around her neck as she panicked, "My mother's necklace! It's gone!"

She looked on the ground while Haru looked in shock.

Back on the rig, just as the sun was starting to set on another day, Katara's necklace lay amongst the debris of the battle. The straps blew in the wind as a hand reached down and picked up.

As the hand lifts the necklace, its owner is none other than Prince Zuko. He clenches his fist as he believes that he might have something for his hunt for the Avatar. Prince Zuko narrowed his eyes as he gazes out into the sunset. He then walked back into the rig.

Deep inside the rig, in a secluded room, the warden received a punch from the Winter Soldier. He grunted as he stumbled into the wall behind him. The door to the room opened and Prince Zuko stepped in. He looked to the Winter Soldier and asked, "Anything, yet?"

The Hydra assassin only shook his head as the prince stepped into the room. Prince Zuko only sighed and said, "I'll give you a few more minutes to make him talk." He turned to leave the room, Zuko looked back and said, "Let me know, I'll send a message to report this fool's failure to my father."

This made the warden cringe in fear. He got down on his knees and begged, "No! Please!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Prince Zuko left the room and closed the doors. As the Prince walked down the hall, he could hear the warden's screams.

Back on the shore and having gotten rid of those prison rags, Nikol made his way from the village. As he walked, he thought about his last few words to Aang's group.

(Begin Flashback)

Just a few hours after they had landed back on the shore, Aang's group and Nikol got a few supplies. Nikol placed a few things in a sack. Then he turned to his new friends.

"I'm afraid that I must leave you now." Ikol said as he started to leave. He looked to Katara and said, "I'm sure your mother's necklace will turn up at some point." He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Have faith, my young friend."

She smiled at him before her face fell again. Before he left, he turned to Steve and Natasha and said, "Good seeing you two again."

This confused both of them as he started walking off. Both spy and soldier ran after him and Steve asked, "What do you mean that it's good to see us again."

Nikol looked at them and said, "It's just that I noticed you in my travels." He placed a hand on his chin as he said, "I don't exactly remember what it was, but I do remember seeing you. Ta-ta."

With that he walked away and behind a building. Steve and Natasha, not fully understanding, ran after him again, but when the came around the corner, he had vanished. Steve looked to Natasha and asked, "Who exactly was that?"

She only shrugged as she was clearly as confused as he was.

(End Flashback)

Back in the woods, Nikol looked ahead of him and said, "Who indeed."

Then in a flash, his being glowed and then his hair grew longer and he no longer wore Earth Kingdom garments. His new garments were much more defined.

Author's Note: Man, that was a little hard to write, but I got it done. This was a very exciting episode to write. I even threw in a guest character. You might recognize him, but I won't give any spoilers. Only that you'll be seeing a lot more of him later on. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	7. Chapter 7: The Winter Solstice Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. On a separate note, woo-hoo! I've made it to the first two Parter of Book One. I am so excited. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _In the Southern Air Temple Steve, Sokka, Aang and Katara stand before the statue of Aang's predecessor Avatar Roku._

 _When Aang goes into a rage, the eyes of Avatar Roku's statue glows._

 _On Kyoshi Aang fights against Zuko while Steve and Natasha battle the Winter Soldier._

 _King Bumi turns to his old friends and said, "It is the duty of the Avatar to master all four elements and confront the Firelord._

 _Aang asks Katara about being the Avatar, "How is Roku supposed to help me?"_

 _Aang, Sokka, and Katara looked to the two Avengers and the former said, "I promise we'll help you find a way to help Bucky."_

 _Katara's necklace lays on the battleground of the rig. It was picked up by Prince Zuko._

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Seven: The Spirit World**

 **(WINTER SOLSTICE, Part 1)**

It was a peaceful day in a region of the Earth Kingdom. Though it was cloudy, the sun still shone down on the land. Up in the clouds, a twin-tailed hawk cawed as it flew. But soon a large shadow passed over it, and when the shadow let out a snort it scared the bird away. Appa flapped his tail as he continued to fly. Katara looked over the edge and said, "Those clouds look so soft, don't they?"

Each of the group was doing their own thing; Aang laid back against Appa just enjoying the ride, Sokka was using a knife to make something from wood, Natasha was meddling with a radio that she had on her, Katara laid on her stomach as she looked over the saddle's side, and Steve looked up higher into the sky with Momo right beside him. Katara then wondered, "Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cottony heap."

Nat looked up from what she was doing and smiled at her friend's child-like curiosity. Sokka looked at his sister and with a sarcastic look he sarcastically said, "Maybe you should give it a try."

"You're hilarious." Katara said with a deadpanned expression. Nat, not looking up this time, slaps Sokka upside the head, making him drop his stuff. He rubbed the side of his head as he gave her an irritated glare.

There was a brave soul on the bison as Aang sat up and shouted, "I'll try it!"

Then grabbing his staff, he jumped off the bison. He laughed as he fell. All four looked over the side as they gave the Airbender questioning looks. Aang shouted as he fell, "Yeah!"

The Airbender landed in a cloud and disappeared in it. The four in the saddle looked for the Airbender as they still had raised eyebrows on their faces. They looked back as Aang flew up the other side. He landed on his rear with a smile on his face. The others just looked at him with blank stares. Both Aang and Momo looked as the water ran off his body as he said, "Turns out clouds are made of water."

"Sounds like this world needs a bit of a science lesson." Nat commented. Steve nudged her with his elbow to keep him quiet. She looked at him and asked, "What? They would benefit from it." She took a moment to think before saying, "Just don't ask Tony or Bruce."

Then setting his staff down, he took a deep breath as he sat up straight. The with a fist to his palm, he sent an air wave that blasted the water off of him. It caused Momo's fur to poof out. Sokka, Steve, Katara and Natasha still just looked at him with blank stares. Katara then looked past them and asked, "Hey, what is that?"

All five of them looked out ahead of the bison and saw something on the land. As they looked past the clouds, a huge patch of land looked black. Sokka then said, "It's like a scar."

"From a forest fire, perhaps?" Natasha looked to Steve. All the super soldier could do was look at her and shrug his shoulders.

Soon the group landed in a clearing amongst the desolation of the forest. Trees in the burnt area were bare and short while ash covered the ground. Sokka kept a look out for anything but said as they spread out, "Listen. It's so quiet." He looked amongst the dead trees and said, "There's no life anywhere."

Aang looked around and felt guilty about all of this. Katara noticed that Aang looked sad from where she stood and asked, "Aang, are you okay?"

Sokka looked down and saw tracks in the ash. And they weren't just any tracks as he angrily exclaimed, "Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick. They have no respect for…"

"Shh!" Katara told him with a finger to her lips. Sokka looked annoyed as he said, "What, I'm not allowed to be angry?"

"You can," Natasha said. She pointed over to Aang and said, "but there are times and places for it."

All four of them looked to the Avatar as he stood there with slumped shoulders and sat down with a saddened sigh. Picking up a fist full of ash, he questions, "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?"

This shocked the four as Katara stepped forward and said, "Aang you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you."

"She's right." Steve said as he walked over Aang, "You shouldn't blame yourself that you didn't have control over."

"Yes, it does." Aang said as he sat in a lotus position. He reminded them, "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature." He put his head in his hands as he said, "But I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole. To find you a teacher." Katara reminded him. Nat looked over at the girl and said, "I don't think that's what he really meant by that."

"Nat's right, I didn't really mean a waterbending teacher," Aang said as he looked behind him, "but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar." He looked out into the burnt forest as he said, "Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you?" Sokka questioned as he came a little closer. He made a solid point by saying, "He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?"

"That's a really good question." Natasha said as she looked at Aang. Aang turned away and closed his eyes, "I don't know."

Momo came bounding up to the Airbender and laid in the boy's lap as if to comfort him. Aang appreciated it, but it didn't make him feel any better as he stroked the lemur's ears.

Somewhere else in the Earth Kingdom, Prince Zuko parted a few stalks of bamboo shoots and shouted, "Uncle, it's time to leave!"

He walked to where his uncle's clothes were and said, "Where are you?!" As he came closer to the branch he shouted, "Uncle Iroh!"

"Over here." His uncle called from one of the hot springs. Prince Zuko was confused as he asked, "Uncle?" Before coming closer, the prince looked back and shouted, "I found him! He's over here!"

Walking to the branch, Prince Zuko told him, "We need to move on. We're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him."

"You look tired, Prince Zuko." Iroh said carefree. He invited Prince Zuko to join him with raised arms, "Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles."

"My troubles cannot be soaked away." Prince Zuko said with a stern face. He became impatient as he said, "It's time to go!"

"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little." Uncle Iroh said as he didn't move. He sounded content as he said, "The temperature is just right. I heated it myself." To prove his point, he took on a focused look as he placed his left fist into his right palm. Then through his nose, he released a stream of steam into the water. The reaction was a huge steam cloud enveloping him and the spring. At that moment, the Winter Soldier stepped through the bamboo stalks and walked towards the springs.

Waving the steam away, Prince Zuko impatiently said, "Enough! We need to leave now." He took a step forward as he ordered, "Get out of the water!"

"Very well." Iroh said as he started to stand up and stretch his arms. Prince Zuko turned away with his eyes closed as he held his hand to prevent seeing what should not be seen. The Winter Soldier did the same as he slightly groaned from seeing something he didn't want to. Prince Zuko was quick to fix the situation by saying, "On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes." But before he left he warned, "But be back at the ship in half an hour," He walked away as he finished, "or I'm leaving without you."

Iroh sits back down in the sigh, "Ah…"

As Zuko walked back to the ship, the Winter Soldier quickly caught up with him and said, "I can never un-see that."

This surprised Prince Zuko for a moment, but then he offered a quick apology as he knew what the assassin meant, "Yeah, sorry about that." He looked back to Iroh and said, "Sometimes Uncle does stuff like that." He looked to the Winter Soldier in confusion and asked, "How come you've never spoken before?"

"Sometimes I know what to say when to say it." The Winter Soldier said through the mouth piece, "And sometimes I don't say a word at all."

Both of them continued on without another word.

Back at the burnt forest, Aang and Sokka, who was hugging his knees, sat down in the ash while Katara, Steve and Natasha came walking up to the Airbender. Katara happily asked, "Hey, Aang, are you ready to be cheered up?"

"No." Aang said, still feeling down about the forest. But three acorns were quick to change his mood, "Ow!" He turned to the three, rubbed his head and questioned as the acorn landed on the ground, "Hey, how is that cheering me up?"

Sokka chuckled before saying, "Cheered me up." This earned him three acorns to the forehead, "Ow!" He immediately knew what he did and said, "Yeah, I probably deserved that."

"We thought you might." Nat said. She pointed to Katara and said, "Katara convinced us to pick up two more acorns for ourselves."

Turning her attentions back to Aang, Katara came closer and said with a smile, "These acorns are everywhere, Aang." She knelt down and told him what it could mean for the forest as she had one more acorn in her hand while Momo had dug up some and stuffed his cheeks, "That means the forest will grow back."

"Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday." She said to make him feel better. She took his hand and placed the acorn in it as she said, "And all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."

Steve walked to the other side of Aang and knelt down with a hand on the Avatar's shoulder and said, "So stop worrying about what you couldn't do, and focus on how to help now."

"And don't worry. Remember, we'll help in any way we can." Natasha said as she came to stand next to them. Katara folded his hand around the acorn. He started to feel better and said, "Thanks, Katara and Natasha." He turned to the super soldier and did the same, "Thanks, Steve."

They smiled back at him. But the sound of approaching footsteps made them look up. The group looked over to the source and saw an elderly man in Earth Kingdom robes with a brown shawl over his shoulders using a walking stick. Sokka was the first to address him as he stood up, "Hey! Who are you?"

The man ignored the question and looked to Aang as he said, "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible." He came closer and looked Aang over, especially the Airbender tattoos, "But those markings…" He looked hopeful as he asked, "Are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang looked between Katara and the two Avengers. When they nodded for him to tell them, he turned to the old man with a smile and nodded. The old man was straight to the point when said, "My village desperately needs your help."

Later, as the sun began to set in the west, the group had followed the old man to his village. As the group walked into the village, the saw the destruction on the left side of the village. Steve asked the old man, "What exactly happened here?"

"Yeah, did the Fire Nation do this?" Sokka questioned. But all the old man said, "You will soon know once we go inside."

Momo chittered as he flew in behind the group. The doors opened when they stepped onto the porch. All seven entered the building. The old man happily told the leader of the village and everyone about Aang, "This young person is the Avatar."

"So the rumors of your return are true." The village leader said as he walked over to them while pressing his hands together. With a bow, he humbly said, "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence." He looked to the group and said, "As is the Avatar's companions." He took a look at Steve and Natasha and said, "Such interesting garments, we must discuss your stories at a more appropriate time."

"Nice to meet you, too." Aang said with a friendly smile. When no one said anything else, Aang asks, "So, is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm not sure." The village leader said with a turn of his head. The old man seemed to have much faith in him as he stepped toward the village leader and said, "Our village is in crisis. He's our only hope."

The village leader nodded in agreement. The old man turned to the group and told them of their problem, "For the last few days at sunset," Katara and Steve look out to the sun while Sokka and Natasha looked a little skeptical as he said, "a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Haybi, the black and white spirit."

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asks. The village leader honestly told them, "We do not know," He walked past them to look out the door as he told of the last few attacks, "but each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own." He sounded truly worried as he said, "We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" Katara asks. Nat was also confused as she questioned, "Yeah, what exactly goes on during a 'solstice'?"

The old man explained, "As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the spirit world grow closer and closer, until the line between them is blurred completely."

"Kind of sounds like the convergence fiasco that Thor was in." Steve said to Nat. She nodded in agreement as the village leader said, "Haybi is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there is no telling what will happen."

"So what do you want me to do, exactly?" Aang asks them. The old man said as if it were obvious while stepping forward, "Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the spirit world than the Avatar himself?" He lowered himself a little with a smile as he told Aang, "You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

"Right…" Aang said before turning and looking up at the ceiling, "That's me."

"Sounds like he's thinking that it's a whole load of bologna." Nat whispered to Steve.

"Hey, great bridge guy." Katara said drawing his attention. She then asked, "Can I talk to you over here for a second?"

The group moved to a corner to where they could talk more privately. Katara looked out the window before she turned to Aang and said, "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this."

"Yeah," Aang said as he looked away down to the side as he didn't really know if he could do this, "that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world."

Katara and Sokka looked to each other before giving their friend a look. Steve had Aang's back as he said, "Come on, you guys. Even though he's been around for a long time, we can't assume that he'll know this stuff right off the bat."

"Yeah, it's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff." Aang defended himself. Katara then asked, "So, can you help these people?"

"That's probably the million dollar question of the day." Natasha commented. Aang felt that it was his job to at least give it a shot, "I have to try, don't I?"

He thought about it before hopefully saying, "Maybe whatever I have to do will just come to me."

Momo came chittering as he perched on Aang's right shoulder. Steve smiled and said, "That's some good thinking right there."

"I think you can do it, Aang." Katara said in support. Natasha then reassured him by saying, "And if you should run into any trouble, we'll have your back."

"Yeah." Sokka said as if he were going to say something supportive as well, but he went the other way when he said, "We're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster."

This earned him two slaps to the head from the two Avengers as Aang and Katara only glared in annoyed.

Back at the springs, Uncle Iroh had dozed off in the water. He happily snored away as he slept. The sound of something rustling in the bushes woke him. He looked about the bamboo forest and asked, "Who's there?"

A little rodent hopped up on the rim of the spring. As it started to rub its face, Iroh became relieved as he said, "A meadow ball." He leaned a little closer and held out his hand and said, "I should have known." The little creature hopped into his hand and he playfully scolded, "You startled me, little one."

He let out a sigh as he leaned against the back of the spring rim and said, "It seems I've dozed off and missed my nephew's deadline." He moved his hand to where the meadow ball could run about the rim as he sighed in content as he put his hands behind his head and said, "But it was a very sweet nap."

The meadow ball started to jump up and down as it started to chitter about something. It stopped and turned when it sensed something coming. The ground started shaking and as a dust cloud came their way, the meadow ball shrieked before running off. Iroh tried to get out of the way, but before he could move a muscle, four jaggedly and pointed rocks burst through the water. When he couldn't move, three Earthbender soldiers jumped down close to the captured man. Another soldier examined Iroh's clothes and told their approaching leader, "He's a Fire Nation soldier."

"He's no ordinary soldier." The leader said as if he's seen Iroh before. He revealed who he was, "This is the Fire Lord's brother, the Dragon of the West." Iroh looked at the point right in front of his nose as the leader said, "The once great General Iroh." The leader of the Earthbender soldiers put on a smug smile as he said, "But now, he's our prisoner."

All Iroh did was glare at him and his team of Earthbenders.

Back at the ruined village, the sun was beginning to disappear behind the mountains to the west. As sunset approached, Aang was let outside of the main building. The doors creaked behind him, making him look back before stepping off of the porch.

Holding his staff with both hands, he tried to talk to it, "Hello, spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try to help stuff."

As he walked to the gates, his friends and the villagers watched from the inside. Sokka didn't feel good about letting Aang do this by himself, "This isn't right. We can't just sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"I agree with Sokka." Natasha said as they watched. But the old man made it sound as if Aang was the only one who could, "If anyone can save us, he can."

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone." Sokka argued for his friend. Steve was in full agreement as he said, "I don't like it either." He placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder and said, "But we'll wait and see if Aang can handle this on his own." Sokka looked to the super soldier as Steve said, "If he needs help, we'll step in."

Sokka didn't say anything as they all looked back out the window. The light began to dim as the sun disappeared. Aang, still waiting for the spirit to show, called out, "The sun is set. Where are you, Haybi?"

When their was sign from the spirit, Aang tried a different tactic, "Well, spirit, uh," He tried to sound authoritative as he put a hand out and said, "I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace." Then after a quick though and a spin of his staff and firmly planted it on the ground towards the gate. When nothing happened he said, "Okay, well, I guess that's settled then."

"Something tells me that this is not going to be that easy." Natasha muttered loudly for the other three to hear. They looked to her, before looking back outside.

Aang then turned away from the gate and slowly made his way back to the central building. But unbeknown to him, the spirit began to materialize as it came through the entrance. The spirit looked amphibious, had two big white arms, two smaller black arms, eight bumps along his spine, a white torso and black back legs. The head was mostly white with a few black markings and it had sharp teeth.

Aang whistled as he slowly made his way, unaware of Haybi following him. When he heard breathing coming from behind, he slowly turned around and saw the spirit behind him. Trying to be friendly to it, Aang said, "You must be the Haybi spirit." Out of respect, Aang held his staff with both hands and said with a bow, "My name is…"

But he was interrupted when the Haybi spirit roared and blasted him with spirit energy. Then Haybi reared up on his back legs and roared again, releasing another blast. Then the spirit stepped over Aang.

Steve, Sokka, Katara and Natasha looked in awe and terror as the spirit moved. Aang tried to introduce himself, "My name is Aang. I'm the Avatar and I would like to help."

When the spirit didn't seem to listen, Aang ran to catch up with him and shouts, "Hey, wait up!"

Haybi used his smaller left arm to completely demolish the first building. Then he used a spirit jump to move to the one on his right and slammed a fist through it. Then with another spirit jump, he roared as he tore the water off and then blasted the remains with a blast of spirit energy. The blast completely eradicated the remains. Then it spirit jumped to another spot in the village. The ground rumbled when the spirit walked. Aang ran after the angry spirit, but lost if for a moment. He knew where to find it when it roared and tried, "Uh…" before running towards Haybi just as it caused more destruction.

From inside the central building, the village leader tried to lightly comment, "The Avatar's methods are…" Everyone inside had to brace themselves as a stray plank of wood crashed in front of the window, and making Momo screech in fright, "unusual."

"It doesn't seem too interested in what he's saying." Sokka deduced. He turned to the others and suggested, "Maybe we should go help him."

"No." The old man was quick to say. Thinking of everyone's safety, the old man said, "Only the Avatar stands a chance against the Haybi."

"Aang will figure out the right thing to do, Sokka." Katara reassured him. Sokka groaned in frustration to this. Steve understood how the Water Tribe teen felt when he and Natasha put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as they continued to watch Aang.

The Haybi continued to cause destruction as he walked through the village. Aang tried to get him to stop with words as he ran after the spirit, "Please! Would you stop destroying things and listen?"

He jumped on a barrel and then onto the roof right behind Haybi. Then he said right as Haybi used a fist from his smaller arms on an already destroyed building, "I'm just trying to do my job as spirit bridge." He walked to the other side and was becoming annoyed when the spirit still didn't listen and asked, "Excuse me, would you _please_ turn around?" When the spirit continued pounding on the building, Aang became fed up with the spirit's behavior and shouted, "I command you to turn around now!"

The spirit heard him that time, and did as was ordered, but swatted the Avatar away. Aang was sent flying into the roof of another building and grunts as he slid down. Sokka, having enough, decided to take action, "That's it- he needs help."

Without another word he, Steve and Natasha all ran to the door. Katara shouted, "Sokka, Steve, Nat, wait!"

When she tried to run out with them, the village leader grabbed her by the arm and said, "It's not safe!"

Aang stood before the spirit as it crushed a cabbage cart. Sokka, Steve and Natasha rounded the corner as the former shouted, "Haybi, over here!"

Then with a fling of their arms, he and Steve threw their weapons at the spirit. Both boomerang and shield bounced off the spirit's backside. When it didn't do anything the three ran to join with Aang. The Airbender was concerned with their safety as he told them, "You guys, go back!"

But they didn't listen as they came up to him and Sokka said, "We'll fight him together, Aang."

"Yeah," Natasha said with a smirk, "after all, we said we'd have your back."

But Aang didn't want to resort to that as he said as two of the four looked to the spirit, "I don't want to fight him unless I…" He didn't finish as the Haybi grabbed both Sokka and Natasha from behind Aang and headed through the gate. Picking up his staff Aang took off after them as Steve used his speed to run after them.

Katara ran to the gate and shouted, "Sokka! Natasha!"

But she didn't go any further as the other villagers came out of hiding. She looked to the villagers before looking down in sadness.

It was night over at the springs. Prince Zuko moved a tree branch out of the way as she shouted, "Uncle!" He walked over to the springs questioning, "Uncle, where are you?"

"Sir, maybe he thought you left without him." A soldier suggested. But Prince Zuko thought otherwise. He noticed that something was off about the situation, "Something's not right here."

The Winter Soldier then looked into the spring where Iroh was when he and Zuko left him. Prince Zuko noticed it too and said, "That pile of rocks."

"It looks like there's been a landslide sir." A Firebender said. The Winter Soldier shook his head and said, "I doubt that." He pointed to a crack that made its way toward the spring, "Look how the crack moves up the hill."

Prince Zuko was in full agreement as he leaned over and said, "He's right, land doesn't slide uphill. Those rocks didn't move naturally." He knew what happened as he revealed, "My uncle's been captured by Earthbenders!"

The Winter Soldier came forward and asked, "What do you want us to do about it, Prince Zuko?"

Back to the chase with Haybi, Aang and Steve weaved between the trees as they gained on the fleeing spirit and the captured friends. Both Sokka and Nat gasped in fear as they tried to get out of Haybi's tight grip. Both Aang and Steve quickly gained on the running spirit and Aang shouted, "Steve! Try to grab Natasha! I'll get Sokka!"

Steve nodded in confirmation as they both got closer to Haybi. Both captives saw their friends and Sokka shouted, "Aang! Steve! Over here!"

"Hurry!" Nat shouted. When Aang smacked into a tree limb, he flew above the trees to continue the chase. Steve moved to where he ran behind the spirit. Haybi, Aang and Steve were headed to the burnt section of the forest. When Haybi with his captives, and Steve broke from the trees, Aang flew down and got closer as Sokka yelled, "Help!"

When he was close enough, Steve jumped onto Haybi's back and slowly moved towards Haybi's right arm where Natasha was being held. Aang called from the air, "Hang on, Sokka! Hang on, Nat!"

"Not like we have much choice here!" Nat sarcastically shouted. Haybi tried to throw Steve off, but the super soldier was able to hang on as he made it to the spirit's shoulder. When he reached with his hand, Aang flew in closer and held out his hand for Sokka to grab. Once both captives took the hand of their rescuers something happened. Haybi vanished into thin air with Sokka, Steve and Natasha along. Aang gasped and lost his balance in the sky. He fell to the ground with a yell before crashing.

His body had crashed in the center of a ring of bear statues, with one standing taller than the rest.

A little while later, Aang shout up and shouted, "Sokka! Natasha! Steve!" He looked about and placed a hand on his head. When he didn't see a sign of them he hunched his shoulders in sadness and said, "I failed."

It was night time on another path as a group of ostrich-horses walked down it while being guided by a single lantern. The ostrich-horses, with armor specially made for them, bleated and grumbled softly as the walked. Iroh sat on the back of the third ostrich-horse with his hands and feet shackled to prevent his escape. Iroh became curious as to where they were going and asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"We're taking you to face justice." The leader said as he rode the last ostrich-horse. Iroh knew that but asked for more details, "But where, specifically?"

"A place you're quite familiar with, actually." The leader said as he brought up a piece of Iroh's past. He looked to the Dragon of the West and said, "You once laid siege to it for six hundred days but it would not yield to you."

"Ah, the great city of Ba-Sing-Se." Iroh said in realization. The leader of the Earthbenders smugly commented, "It was greater than you were, apparently."

Iroh was quick to defend himself about it, "I acknowledge my defeat at Ba-Sing-Se." He looked down as he remembered it, "After six hundred days away from home, my men were tired and I was tired." He lets out a huge yawn, and pressed up against the soldier rode and made him glare back, before saying, "And I'm still tired."

Then after a few more steps Iroh tilted off the ostrich-horse and fell off the ride. The soldier looked back in surprise to the sleeping Iroh. Three of the guards surrounded the sleeping man. Two helped him two his feet and led him back to the ostrich-horse. He looked back to the spot where he fell and saw the sandal that he had intentionally left behind. He smirked at leaving something that would lead his nephew to finding him.

Near dawn back at the ruined village, Katara sat by the gate, hugging her knees and holding Sokka's boomerang as she waited for brother and her friends to return. The old man walked up to her and offered a few comforting words, "I'm sure they'll be back."

"I know." Was all she said. They continued to watch the woods for a sign. The old man put a blanket over her shoulders while saying, "You should get some rest."

Still holding the boomerang as she pulled the blanket tighter, she said something to comfort her, "Everything's gonna be okay."

She tried to remain strong as she turned away from the woods. The old man kneeled down and comfortingly said, "Your brother and friends are in good hands." Aang started to emerge from the woods right as the old man said, "I would be shocked if the Avatar returned without him."

Aang stopped a few feet from the gate and was downhearted when he said, "Katara? Katara, I lost them."

The sun rose over the village as Aang took a step forward. But unbeknownst to him, something was wrong as his entire being was blue. The old man said to Katara and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "The sun is rising. Perhaps he will return soon."

This confused Aang as he questioned, "What?! No, I'm right here." He gave a frustrated groan before he tried to show them that he was there by waving. But as the birds started to chirp as he noticed his hand.

Aang held his up to the sun and saw that it was translucent as he realized out loud, "I'm in the spirit world!"

On the trail where Iroh had intentionally left his sandal, a pair of Fire Nation boots walked over to it. A hand picked up the sandal and brought it over the head of Prince Zuko. The Winter Soldier stood a few feet behind him as he inspected the footwear. Just to make sure he was on the right trail, he took a small sniff. But the sandal had a strong odor that made the Fire Nation prince cringe and gasped from it. Though he didn't sniff it himself, the Winter Soldier felt that he would've been sick himself.

"Yep, that's Uncle Iroh." Prince Zuko muttered before standing back up. Turning he set to get back on his Komodo rhino. He jumped back on as he and the Winter Soldier set off again.

Back over in the ruined village, Katara had no idea that Aang's spirit, with a staff somehow, was sitting right next to her. But Aang tried to sound as if he could get everything under control, "I'll figure this out, Katara, I promise. Like they said, 'I'm the bridge between the two worlds', right?" He tried to make himself sound convincing to himself as he said, "All I have to do is figure out what I have to do." He perked up as he said, "But once I do that, no problem."

He looked to the left as Appa walks up and gives a sad groan. Aang tries to talk to him, "Appa, hey, buddy, I'm right here."

But the bison couldn't see him either and turned to the saddened Katara and sadly sighed as he blew in Katara's face. This made Aang depressed as he said, "But I guess you can't see me, either."

Appa sadly groaned in Katara's face, making her open her eyes. She looked to the bison and reassured him, "It's okay, Appa, don't worry." Katara rubbed Appa's nose as she said, "I'm sure they're on their way back." She stood up and led the bison into the village while saying, "I bet they even found you a bunch of moon peaches for a treat."

Appa groaned softly as he followed the Waterbender in. Aang was completely lost as he turned the other way. He asks himself, "What am I supposed to do?" Shouting up to the sky he yells, "Avatar Roku, how can I talk to you?!"

When he didn't receive an answer he sadly turned and looked down. Then he heard something approaching and hopefully asked, "Sokka? Steve? Natasha?"

He saw something glowing in the forest. Whatever it was got closer and it was higher in the trees. He kept smiling in hope that it was one of his friends, but squinted to get a better look. What he saw wasn't the Water Tribe teen, the spy or the super soldier. A Chinese dragon spirit with wings flew at him. Aang then commented, "That's definitely not any of them."

Then opening his spirit glider, he tried to take off. But he only got a few feet off the ground before falling and landing with a grunt. Getting up, he found that weird and then with his arms parallel he tried to make a rush of air, but nothing happened. He tried again, but the same results. Aang realized in horror, "What? I can't airbend in the spirit world!"

He grew scared as he turned to see that the Chinese dragon spirit getting closer. The dragon spirit then came in for a landing in front of Aang as he waited outside the village. Aang backed up when the dragon spirit landed. It had two horns with white tips, a shaggy beard and two whiskers under its nostrils. Though a little frightened of it, Aang tried to sound brave as he asked, "You don't know where Sokka, Steve or Natasha are, do you?"

The dragon gave a low growl as it lowered its head. It moved one of its whiskers to where it could touch the whimpering Aang's forehead. When it touched him it gave him a vision of the past. He saw the same dragon, but when it was alive. It had more reddish appearance and carried a man upon the back its neck. When the whisker removed itself from his forehead Aang understood, "You're Avatar Roku's animal guide," He thought about it as he said, "like Appa is to me."

He told Roku's dragon his predicament, "I need to save my friend, and I don't know how." He stepped closer and asked, "Is there some way for me to talk to Roku?"

The dragon lowered his head again to where Aang could climb on. The dragon waited for Aang as the new Avatar quickly hopped on. Before they left, Aang looked back and promised, "I'll be back, Katara."

The dragon spirit raised its head as Aang asked, "Take me to Roku."

With that, the dragon spirit took off into the sky. The dragon spirit wound itself higher into the sky as Katara petted Appa to make him feel better.

On a more mountainous pass, the team of Earthbenders continued on their trek towards the Earth Kingdom capital. Iroh just sat quietly on the back of the ostrich-horse when he noticed and gasped as a dragon spirit with a rider fly overhead. He gasps again when the dragon spirit flies away. The leader of the team, as he didn't and couldn't see the spirits, asked, "What's the problem?"

"Nothing." Iroh said as he knew they wouldn't believe him. But then he thought of a way to either escape or slow the Earthbenders down, "Actually, there is a bit of a problem." He used his age as a trap as he said, "My old joints are feeling sore and achy, and these shackles are too loose."

"Too loose?" The leader questioned with a repeat. Iroh smirked as he tried to make it sound believable, "That's right- the cuffs are loose, and they jangle around and bump my wrists." He made himself sound weak and pathetic then to grateful as he said, "It would help me if you would tighten them, so they wouldn't shake around so much."

"Very well." The leader said. Turning to one of the other soldiers he ordered, "Corporal, tighten the prisoner's handcuffs."

The group stopped as the corporal did just that. His ostrich-horse laid down so he could dismount. As the corporal moved to fix the cuffs, Iroh took in a deep breath before covering what he was doing with his right hand as he released a stream of hot steam onto the metal. When the corporal put his hand on it, Iroh smirked as he kept the Earthbenders hand against the hot metal as the man screamed. When Iroh released him, the corporal fell on his knees and continued to yell in pain. Then taking action, Iroh jumped off of the corporal's ostrich-horse and then jumping horizontally, he shot a fireball with his feet. The fireball landed in between the first two ostrich-horses and scared them. The Earthbenders gasped as they tried to get their rides under control. As the Earthbenders worked to control the situation, Iroh smirked as he started to roll towards the ledge of the path. The leader turned to see Iroh go over the edge.

Somewhere far on the ocean, Avatar Roku's dragon brought Aang to an island with smoking volcano. Near the shore of the island was a temple and a bridge that made it accessible from the shore. The dragon flew straight into the temple, and once it reached the central chamber it maneuvered itself to fly towards the ceiling. This terrified Aang questioned, "Hey! What are you doing?!"

Aang yells as the get closer to the ceiling. But he was new to the whole being a spirit business as they phased through the ceiling. When they came into the top chamber, Roku's dragon landed in a coil and let Aang down. Aang jumped down and looked to the far end of the room. But all he saw was a more glorified statue of Avatar Roku. This confused Aang as he said, "I don't understand. This is just a statue of Roku."

Aang continued to stare at the statue before turning to the dragon as it moved its whisker towards him again. When it touched his forehead, it showed him a new vision. A comet blazing through the sky. Aang then asked, "Is that what Roku wants to talk to me about? A comet?"

He looked to the statue again before asking the dragon, "When can I talk to him?"

With another low growl, Roku's dragon lowered its head to let light from a stone high on the wall. Aang looked from the stone to where the light pointed. It was really close to the statue of Avatar Roku. When Aang turned back to the dragon, it moved its whisker to show him another vision. In this vision, the sun rose and set many times over the temple. On the floor of the chamber, markings of the day of the solstice, lay on the floor. The stone in the wall kept shining the light of the sun on the statue. And each day it got closer to the statue until the day of the solstice when it hit the statue. Aang understood as he looked at the floor and said, "It's a calendar," He smiled as he looked to the statue, "and the light will reach Roku on the solstice."

Aang turned to the dragon spirit and asked, "So that's when I'll be able to speak to Roku?"

The dragon spirit gave a low grunt as if to say it were obvious. But Aang knew he couldn't wait that long to speak to Roku and said, "But I can't wait that long. I need to save Sokka now!"

With that said, Roku's dragon quickly flew Aang back to the Earth Kingdom.

Back on the mountainous trail and the disaster going on, Iroh continued to roll down the hill and grunt as he went. From the top, the leader of the Earthbenders came to the edge and with a kneeling stomp, sent a landslide down after the Dragon of the West. The landslide was faster than Iroh as it caught up with him and stopped his roll. The leader and two other Earthbenders then jumped over the ledge and used their earthbending to skate down the slope. They came to a stop at the mostly covered Iroh. The corporal then said the obvious, "He is too dangerous, Captain. We can't just carry him to the capital." He sounded firm when he said, "We have to do something now."

"I agree. He must be dealt with immediately and severely." The captain said. Iroh twitched before spitting out a rock. Then he smirked as he opened his eyes a little.

Over a river between the burnt forest and the rest, Katara flew on Appa to see if she could see the others. But when they didn't see anything, she said, "It's no use, Appa- I don't see them anywhere." Then she decided to wait, "Our best hope is to go back to the village and wait."

Appa softly groans as he turns back to the village.

On the trail of the ostrich-horses, the foot of Prince Zuko's Komodo rhino stomped down on the tracks. The Komodo rhino took a few more steps before the prince and the Winter Soldier looked behind them to the sky. They both saw the flying bison. Prince Zuko said aloud, "The Avatar!"

He turned the Komodo rhino to follow and the Winter Soldier was more than willing to follow the prince's lead. But Prince Zuko stopped the rhino short as he looked to the tracks. The Winter Soldier saw the prince's dilemma and said, "Which ever you decide, I will comply."

Prince Zuko looked between the two choices as he thought about what to do now. Then he looked down to think to himself.

The sun was about to set when Roku's dragon had brought Aang to the burnt forest and flew over the trees. As they passed the burnt trees, Aang saw where they were heading and mutters, "Whoa!"

He saw his body holding his staff sitting on the top of a bear statue. He gasped as the dragon headed right for it and shielded himself with his arms. Roku's dragon folded its wings as it phased into the statue and Aang's spirit back into his body. With his spirit returned, Aang opened his mortal eyes and looked around him. Then jumping off the statue and into the ring of bowing bears. As he looked up to the statue, he started to understand it a little more.

Knowing what he had to do, Aang opened his glider and took off into the sky towards the village.

The sun began to set on the fifth day for the village. Katara stood on the porch of the main building as she waited. Two of the villagers waited to close the doors. When she didn't see any signs, she hung her head down in sadness. Then something appeared over the forest, making her look up. Aang quickly approached on his glider. He landed before the main building and twirled his staff to close it. Katara ran out to meet him and Momo flew to his shoulder, happy as she said, "You're back!"

She embraced him and then looked past him to see if the others were coming. She was confused when she didn't see them and asked, "Where are Sokka, Steve and Natasha?"

Katara then looked to him with a small smile. Aang wasn't too happy to tell her as he hung his head, "I'm not sure."

They both noticed as the sun started to set and they both knew that Haybi would be hear soon. Aang faced the entrance, hoping that he could handle the situation.

In a ditch somewhere, the team of five Earthbenders had Iroh chained to a boulder with his hands stretched out before him. The captain then said, "These dangerous hands must be crushed."

Then with a ferocious grunt, the captain did a stomp and raised a boulder from the ground. Then hovering it over Iroh's hands, he lowered his fist to drop the boulder on Iroh's hands. But right before the boulder could do it job, Prince Zuko came in with a flying side kick. As he landed before his chained uncle, Zuko raised his leg high before bringing his foot down on the chain, breaking it to where Iroh could stand. The uncle then commended the nephew as he readied himself with the chains, "Excellent form, Prince Zuko."

"You taught me well." Prince Zuko said as he took his firebending stance.

"Surrender yourselves." The captain ordered. He made a few points, "It's five against two." The captain smirked at his odds, "You're clearly outnumbered."

"Ah, that's true," Iroh admitted. But then he told them with a small snap of the chains, "but you are clearly outmatched."

"And you may want to check your numbers." A voice said from the top of the ditch. All eyes looked to the source of the voice as the Winter Soldier jumped down to stand with both Prince Zuko and Iroh.

The captain yelled as he charged into battle. With a twist and a stomp, he caused a trail of rocks to jut from the ground as the others punched boulders. Iroh swung his left chain in a circle as he used it to break the incoming boulders. Prince Zuko sent a fire kick to one Earthbender as the Hydra assassin smashed through the boulder of another Earthbender and grabbed the soldier with his normal hand. Lifting the Earthbender into the air the Winter Soldier kicked him in the gut that sent him flying into the ditch wall. The soldier groaned as he slid off the wall.

Two of the still standing Earthbenders then sent a huge boulder towards the smirking two as they had their backs turned. But before the boulder could strike, one of Iroh's chains wrapped around it. Then swinging himself in a circle, he yelled when he sent it flying their way. The boulder smashed into both Earthbenders and made them crash into the opposite wall.

The captain was the only who remained in the fight as he raised three boulders. Then with a shove he sent the three boulders towards them. Prince Zuko was able weave around the boulders while the Winter Soldier used his metallic hand to smash them. Then lowering himself, Prince Zuko did a low fire sweep kick. The Earthbender captain dodged the first. Zuko then sent to fire fists at him. The captain was able to use his helmet to block the fire ball. Then with a slight stomp and with a parting circular motion of his hands, he raised two pillars of earth. Prince Zuko gasped at the attack. But before the captain could use it, two knives cut into his shoulders as Iroh wrapped his chains around the captains legs from behind and gave them a little yank. The captain fell to the ground and his attack fell on top of him. He groaned in pain as he was mostly covered.

Prince Zuko, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier all stood together as they proudly viewed their work. Uncle and nephew looked to each other as the latter placed a hand on Iroh's shoulder. The prince then took care of one last matter, "Now, would you please put on some clothes?"

"Yeah." The Winter Soldier agreed. He then made the comment, "I was trained to handle intense situations, but this is becoming too much."

Iroh chuckled to this before becoming serious for a moment. With a slight bow he said, "I do thank you both for coming to my rescue."

Prince Zuko gave a small smile to this. And unbeknown to both Firebenders, the Winter Soldier slightly smiled as well.

On the outside of the ruined village, Aang stood before the gates as he waited for Haybi again. From inside the main building, Katara, Momo and the villagers watched and waited to see if the matter would be resolved. The wind blew as Aang waited again. But when Haybi didn't show like the last time, Aang turned and went back into the village.

Wind chimes jingled as the wind blew. Before Aang made it half way past the second, Haybi appeared roaring and raised arms with to clenched fists. Aang screamed as he formed and air shield around him to block the falling debris.

"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara shouted from the main building, "Run!"

Haybi roared and released another blast of spirit energy before using a spirit jump to move towards the building. Aang acted quickly as he ran towards the spirit and jumped high over Haybi. The angry spirit had his teeth clenched as Aang came down over him. As he came down before the spirit's head, Aang placed a palm on Haybi's forehead and he was able to see what lay beneath the surface of the angry spirit. The true form of Haybi was a black and white panda, but it was just as angry as the spirit form that it took. The translucent panda disappeared as Haybi released another blasting roar. Aang then landed on the porch and realized, "You're the spirit of this forest." He then understood why Haybi kept attacking the village, "Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down."

It was obvious to tell be the Haybi's angered heaving breath. Aang knew how Haybi felt, "When I saw the forest had burned, I was sad and upset," But then he remembered what Katara said, "but my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back."

He smiled as he showed Haybi the acorn, the sign of hope for the forest. Haybi watched as Aang gently set the acorn down on the porch. Using one of his shorter hands, Haybi gently picked the acorn up. Now longer angry, Haybi reverted to his true form of the giant black and white panda as he turned to walk out of the village. The villagers came out of the main building to watch with Aang as the spirit walked off. Haybi gave a low groan as he passed through the gate, and a fantastic sight happened. As the spirit disappeared into the forest, stalks of bamboo grew between the gate posts. When the stalks had completely grown, Sokka, Steve, Natasha and all the others who had been taken by Haybi emerged from the spirit world. While the returning villagers were confused, those who had been worried were relieved as Katara shouted in joy, "Sokka!"

She ran up and hugged him as some of the villagers hugged those returning. Aang ran up too and smiled at the two Avengers. Natasha was still a little confused as she asked, "Did we die or something?"

"I'm not completely sure." Steve honestly said. They both looked to Aang as Steve asked, "Did you solve the problem with Haybi?"

Aang didn't say anything, but smiled as he gave a nod of his head. Both Nat and Steve smiled as the former wrapped her arms around the kid and said, "I knew you could do it."

"Way to go, kid." Steve said as he placed a hand on his shoulder as he smiled at the Avatar. Sokka was still confused and asked, "What happened?"

"You, Steve and Natasha were trapped in the spirit world for twenty-four hours." Katara told them. Then she asked, "How are all of you feeling?"

Sokka made a constipated face as he said, "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom."

"Me too." Nat said as she ran to find one. Steve just shrugged as he knew that he should be safe than sorry and ran.

Katara made slightly disturbed face as all three walked away.

Much later in the village, the villagers stood behind their leader as he expressed his gratitude to them, "Thank you, Avatar and his friends. If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"You could give us some supplies and some money." Sokka said. This made the group give him questioning looks as Katara elbowed her brother, "Sokka!"

"What?" Sokka questioned. He had a smile as he said, "We need stuff."

Nat chuckled while Steve patted the Water Tribe teen on the back. The village leader looked more than happy and said with a bow as he placed his right fist in his left palm, "It would be an honor to help you pre pare for your journey."

As the village leader walked off, the rest of the group looked to Aang as Katara said, "I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do all on your own."

"Actually, I had a little help." Aang admitted as he turned to them. This made them curious as Steve asked with a raised eyebrow, "What kind of help, exactly?"

Aang looked down as he thought about something, "And there's something else."

He thought about his vision about the comet. They could tell that something was bothering him as Sokka asked, "What is it?"

"I need to talk to Roku," Aang said as if it were truly important, which it was. He thought about how he found out, "and I think I found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!" Katara said with a smile brimming. Sokka was in somewhat agreement, "Creepy, but great."

"So where exactly do we need to go?" Natasha asked. Aang remembered where he needed to go, "There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him."

"But the solstice is tomorrow." Katara said as she grew worried. Steve then thought about this predicament and said, "So we have a time limit, maybe we can beat it."

"Yeah, but there's one more problem." Aang reluctantly said as he remembered where the island was, "The island is in the Fire Nation."

This caused his for friends to look at him with shocked faces.

On the path as they made their way back to the ship, the trio rode on back of the Komodo rhino with Zuko in the front and the Winter Soldier in the back. The Winter Soldier then asked, "So, now the Avatar?"

"So, now, the Avatar." Prince Zuko confirmed as they continued.

* * *

Author's Note: That took so long to right. Especially while working on a few other fanfictions. I plan to have the second half up before long. I also plan to have the second part as a Thanksgiving gift to you readers. Also, I just heard about the passing of Stan Lee, so in honor of his memory, I've decided to dedicate this story and give him a cameo appearance in each episode. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	8. Chapter 8: The Winter Solstice Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. And here is the second part of the Winter Solstice of Book One. I am so excited. And as I said in the last episode, I will be dedicating each episode of Avenging Avatar to Stan Lee. He will have a cameo appearance in most of the episodes, so be on the lookout for him. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _As the group fly away from the Southern Water Tribe village, Aang said, "But before we learn waterbending or look for Steve's friends, we have some serious business to attend to."_

 _In the Southern Air Temple just as the four were about to depart, Aang and Katara looked to the statue of Avatar Roku and Aang asks, "How is Avatar Roku supposed to help me?"_

 _Aang feels depressed as he sits on the ash covered ground of the burnt forest and said, "Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."_

" _The Avatar before you?" Sokka questions and then points out, "He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?"_

 _Aang waves his hand in front of Katara and the old man. When he notices that it's completely blue, he raised it to the sun. He then realized as he said, "I'm in the spirit world!"_

 _As Iroh was relaxing in the hot springs, a four a jagged rocks point at his face as a group of Earthbenders surround him._

 _After meeting Avatar Roku's dragon, it took him to an island where the sunlight of the solstice almost touched a statue of the previous Avatar._

 _After figuring out how to calm the Haybi spirit, Aang said, "I need to talk to Roku, and I think I found a way to contact his spirit. There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island, and if I go on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him."_

" _But the solstice is tomorrow." Katara said with a worried face._

 _Aang gave even more troubling news, "The island is in the Fire Nation."_

 _His four friends look to him with shocked expressions._

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Eight: Avatar Roku**

 **(WINTER SOLSTICE, Part 2)**

It was really early in the morning at the ruined village. Now that the Haybi spirit had been appeased, the villagers could once again sleep easy. All except Aang and Appa, as the Airbender tried to pull the bison towards the gate. Aang wanted to go to the Fire Nation alone, but someone was being difficult. He grunted with each pull on the reigns. He kept trying as he said, "Let's go, Appa." But the bison resisted, making become annoyed as he said, "Come on, boy."

He understood why Appa was being difficult as he said, "Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Natasha, Sokka and Steve aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us." He looked down and felt guilty as he said, "If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself."

But then his attitude changed as he shouted, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"

Then with another tug of the reigns, he pulled to far and fell towards Appa with a yell. Aang sat in defeat as Sokka said from behind the bison, "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something."

Aang looked behind the bison to see his friends and a few of the villagers as Katara pleaded, "Please, don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation." She made it sound a little personal for her friend, "Neither can I."

"It's not a great idea to go with just Appa, kid." Natasha pointed out. Steve was in full agreement as he said, "They're right, Aang. There's no telling what could happen if you went to the Fire Nation alone."

Aang knew that they were right, but a nagging feeling came back as he thought about his vision. In his mind, the comet still raged as it flew across the sky. He looked to them and said as he stood up, "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means." He stepped closer as he pointed out, "I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice- that's today!"

"And we get that, but there's still no sense in you going alone." Steve said with a determined look on his face. But Aang didn't listen as he used his airbending to jump on to Appa's head. When he landed and took the reins, he cast one look back to his friends before Appa started walking.

Both Aang and Appa were cut off when Steve, Natasha, Katara and Sokka all stood in the was as the Waterbender firmly said, "We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang."

Aang saw how serious they were. Sokka made a heart felt moment by saying, "At least not without your friends. We got your back."

"That's right Aang." Steve said with a smirk and his arms crossed. Natasha had the same look as she wrapped an arm around the super soldier's shoulders. Momo was in agreement as he landed on Aang's arm, clearly wanting to come. Even Appa was touched by the moment as he gave a huge lick to Sokka's face. It made the Water Tribe warrior shout, "Ew!"

"It's a long journey to the crescent island. You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown." The village leader said as he handed a bundle of supplies to Aang. He wasn't the only one who gave something, an elderly man wearing red-tinted glasses came up to the bison and handed Aang something while saying, "And here's a few sweets for the road. I made them to where even your bison can enjoy them."

He emphasized this by tossing a treat into Appa's mouth. The bison swallowed the treat whole and gave the old man a lick in gratitude. The man laughed as he wiped himself and said, "Your appreciation is enough."

Aang graciously accepted the rest and said, "Thank you, kind sir."

"Think nothing of it, True Believer. Excelsior!" He said before walking away. As Katara, Natasha, Steve and Sokka all climbed into the saddle, the village leader then said, "Good luck."

"Thank you for your…" Aang tried to say. But the village didn't want to waste time as he pointed the west and shouted, "Go!"

Appa bellowed before flapping his tail against the ground to take off. As Appa flew he groaned as if he were agitated about something. Natasha reached over the saddle and said to comfort the bison, "I know, so rude right."

x

A few hours in the ruined village, the villagers had retreated inside to get some rest. A hand knocked on the village leader's door. A moment later, he came out with a sigh to have been woken at such a late hour. When he saw who was before him he gasped. General Iroh sat on the Komodo rhino, still not wearing much clothing. Standing with glares, the Winter Soldier held his weapon at the man while Prince Zuko questioned, "Having trouble sleeping?"

Then with a shove, he stepped closer to the door and questioned, "Seen the Avatar lately?"

x

The sun soon rose in the East as Appa flew over the open ocean. While Steve, Natasha, Katara, Sokka and Momo all looked down to the water for either the island or any threats, Aang looked behind Appa to see how much the sun had risen. Turning to the bison, Aang said, "Come on, boy!" He looked a little worried as he said, "We've got a long way to go!" Then with a firm face he said, "Faster!"

Appa growled as he gave a flap of his tail to go faster.

x

Down in the bowels of Prince Zuko's ship, the Winter Soldier had went to his quarters and was readying his weapon for the upcoming fight. As he looked down the barrel to see if anything blocked it, a blue portal opened behind it. Stepping through it, the Red Skull walked into the room. The portal closed the moment he stepped away from it. Looking to the assassin he ordered, "Report on the current mission with the prince."

"We have confirmation on where they're heading." The Winter Soldier told him. When the Red Skull didn't say anything, the Hydra assassin said, "They're headed to a Fire Temple on a crescent shaped island," He was hesitant as he said, "in the Fire Nation."

The Red Skull took in a deep breath as he turned away from the Winter Soldier. Johan Schmidt then said, "If he is not careful, the Prince will dig a hole that he cannot get out of."

"Should I tell him to abandon the pursuit until further notice?" The assassin asked. The Red Skull shook his head and said, "No." Turning he said, "It wouldn't matter what we told Fire Nation Prince Zuko what he should do, I believe that he would find a way to get around it."

Raising a hand towards the far wall, Johann Schmidt focused his powers and opened another portal to who knows where. Moving towards it, he was about to go through when he turned and said, "Do keep an eye on the prince. He could be very useful to us in the future."

The Winter Soldier nodded in confirmation to the orders. With that said, the Red Skull walked through the portal. A second later it closed behind him.

x

Prince Zuko's ship sailed at full speed as it moved to catch up to the Avatar. Iroh, now back in his Fire Nation garb, didn't like what Prince Zuko was doing as he said, "Sailing into Fire Nation waters." He, the Winter Soldier and a Firebender all stood behind the prince as he looked through his telescope as he scolded his nephew, "Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish."

"I have no choice, Uncle." Prince Zuko said without moving from the telescope. Iroh then brought up the reason why it was such a bad idea, "Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?" He then looked worried as he asked, "What if you're caught?"

"I'm chasing the Avatar." Prince Zuko argued as he turned from the telescope. He tried to make it sound as if this would be legal, "My father will understand why I'm returning home."

"You give him too much credit." Iroh said with his arms crossed. He made a point about his sibling, "My brother is not the understanding type."

Prince Zuko didn't say anything more as he turned back to the telescope. The Winter Soldier took the time to lean towards Iroh and ask, "I'm still a little new to all of this. Could you explain to me why he is banished?"

"I'm sorry." General Iroh said with a wave of his hand, "Perhaps at another time."

Prince Zuko moved the telescope to search until he spotted his target. He then said, "There they are!" Turning to the inside of the ship he ordered, "Helmsman, full steam ahead."

Up from the saddle, Katara noticed Zuko's ship and said, "Aang, we got trouble."

"Yeah, and it's coming up fast." Sokka said with a worried face as he moved behind his sister to look. Nat turned to Steve and commented, "He is very persistent, I'll give him that much."

Steve nodded in agreement as they four in the saddle watched to see what the prince would do.

In the lower parts of the ship, a trapped door opened to allow some sort of contraption rise to the deck of the ship. The machine was a metal catapult, and in the launching arm was a smoldering rock. Six soldiers stood with Prince Zuko, the Winter Soldier and General Iroh as they readied the weapon. A Firebender held a sword while another soldier poured some kind of oil onto the boulder. General Iroh had a fan waving to his face as he commented, "Eh, really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

"Even I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with that smell." The Winter Soldier commented. Prince Zuko ignored them as he readied his right fist back before shooting a fire fist. The flames engulfed the boulder, making it ready to use. The Prince then said with raised hand, "On my mark…" Then with a slash down he ordered, "Fire!"

The Firebender sliced through the rope, causing the arm to fling the flaming boulder into the air. The fireball flew high into the sky and streaked towards the bison. Katara shouted in alarm, "Fireball!"

"I'm on it!" Aang shouted and tugged the reins to the right. Appa narrowly dodges the fireball. The fireball flies past them before falling into the ocean. Everyone in the saddle sniffs the odor from the fireball and starts to cringe from it. Everyone Katara then stated the obvious as she gagged, "We have to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Nat commented as she plugged her nose. Sokka then asked, "Can't you make Appa go any faster?"

"Seriously, it would be helpful to go much faster." Steve said as he tried to wave the smell away. Aang tried plugging his nose before looking back and said with a worried glace of what's ahead, "Yeah, but there's just one little problem."

Prince Zuko's good eye widened as he saw what was in front of them and said, "A blockade."

x

Two rows of ships sailed in an arch, one line going one way and the other line going the other way, to protect their Nation from potential threats. On these ships, that were much bigger than Prince Zuko's, they had three and more regal looking catapults mounted on their decks.

x

On Prince Zuko's ship, his uncle stroked his beard and pointed out to save his nephew, "Technically, you are still in Earth Kingdom waters." Zuko narrowed his eyes as the older man continued, "Turn back now and they cannot arrest you."

x

"If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade." Aang suggested. He looked back and said, "It's the only way."

"There's no time!" Katara shouted, thinking about how much time they don't have. Steve then said, "She's right, we go around, we might not make it in time!"

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's too dangerous." Aang said over his shoulder. Katara then pointed out, "And that's exactly why we're here."

"Besides," Natasha said as she recalled, "me and Steve here have actually dealt with way worse before."

Steve gave a slight chuckle to this. Sokka then felt confident as he said, "Let's run this blockade!"

Aang looked to each of them and saw that they were willing to go to the end to see this through. Looking forward, Aang said, "Appa, yip, yip."

Then with another flap of his tail, Appa went faster towards the blockade.

x

Down on his ship, Prince Zuko saw them speeding towards the blockade and said, "He's not turning around."

"I think they're gonna try and run the blockade." The Winter Soldier said as he watched them. General Iroh then tried to plead with his nephew, worried about the consequences that he could face, "Please, Prince Zuko, if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do. Do not follow the Avatar."

Prince Zuko, knowing that his uncle had a point, felt that he needed to do this as he said, "I'm sorry, Uncle." Looking to the helmsman, he ordered, "Run the blockade!"

The Winter Soldier and Iroh gave each other uneasy looks.

x

Someone spotted Appa through their own telescope as a familiar voice said, "The Avatar…" Then moving it towards the water, he recognized the ship as he said, "and the banished prince."

Commander Zhao lowered the telescope while saying, "This must be my lucky day."

Another soldier stood behind the commander and asked, "Commander Zhao, what are your orders?"

"Shoot the bison down, Captain." Zhao ordered without hesitation. This surprised the captain as he pointed out, "But there's a Fire Navy ship out there, sir." Thinking through loyalty he said, "One of our own. What if it's hit?"

"So be it." Zhao said with no remorse. The captain took a step back as the Commander said, "It belongs to a traitor."

Turning to the soldiers by the catapults and ordered, "Ignite."

One by one, a Firebender launched a fireball at the oil covered rock. When they were ready, Commander Zhao ordered, "Launch!"

Then from the decks of the ships that were in range, fireballs soared through skies towards the bison. Prince Zuko, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier as the fireballs soared high into the sky. Everyone on Appa screamed as the fireballs came at them. Appa was able to dodge a few of them, but it got more intense when two collided into each other. Appa flew through the dust and came out with a few burning patches on his fur. He growled in pain as the five in the saddle quickly worked to put the flames out. Steve and Natasha took the right side of the bison while Sokka, Katara and Momo, who chirped and climbed down to the farthest burnt patch, took the left.

Aang looked to the bison in worry and asked, "Appa, are you okay?"

The bison growled as if to say that he was fine. Then with another tug of the reins, Aang made Appa go higher into the sky.

Prince Zuko's ship kept sailing towards the blockade as fireballs rained down close to the vessel. The soldiers watched as the fireballs slammed into the ocean and created waves. One soldier ran as a wave came crashing onto the deck. A fireball crashed into the back of Prince Zuko's ship hard. A crewman came to the front of the ship and shouted, "Prince Zuko!" The prince looked to him as he reported, "The engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs."

"Do not stop this ship." Prince Zuko ordered as he turned around. The Winter Soldier came up to him and asked, "Are you sure that's a wise move?"

On his ship in the blockade, Commander Zhao ordered, "Launch!"

Another barrage of fireballs were launched into the sky at the bison. Appa flew high into the sky and in between two layers of clouds as he tried to avoid the blockade. But the tactic proved to futile as fireballs shot up into the clouds. One came super close, making everyone scream as Aang tugged the reins to the right. Appa was able to stay clear of most of the fireballs and flew through the smoke trail of one. As he maneuvered through the fireballs, two of them smacked into each other as he got close. The result caused Appa to growl and thrash in the air, making everyone scream from it and Sokka was sent flying off the bison. Sokka screamed as he fell through the clouds.

Truly worried about his friend, Aang turned the reins as he shouted, "Sokka!"

Appa turned and dived to where he went below the clouds and maneuvered himself towards the still screaming Sokka. Angling himself to the right, Katara, Steve and Natasha all reached out to grab the screaming Water Tribe warrior. Sokka reached forward and took his sisters hand. When she pulled him closer, the two Avengers grabbed hold of him and pulled him on the saddle.

Steve looked Sokka in the eye and asked, "Are you okay, kid?"

Sokka, hunched over as he sat on his knees, took a few deep breathes as he lifted a thumbs up. The three sitting with him gave a sigh of relief. Appa briefly touched the water before climbing into the sky again. For some odd reason, a fish crashed into Sokka and knocked him on his back. And just when the fish is about to fly back into the ocean Momo jumps up and catches it in his arms.

The ships in the blockade catapults released another barrage of fireballs. Staying close to the water, Appa was able to maneuver around the fireballs as they crashed into the water. Aang struggled to keep Appa straight as they headed for the blockade.

On his ship, Zhao had the soldiers re-aim on of the catapults to where it aimed at the incoming bison. With a hand raised he said, "Ready?"

As Appa inched closer to the ships, Zhao waited for the right moment. When he felt that they were close enough, Commander Zhao ordered, "Fire!"

The catapult threw the fireball at the incoming bison. Aang eyes the incoming fireball as Steve shouts, "Aang, catch!"

Cap tossed the shield to Aang as the Airbender started to jump off the bison. Catching the shield in his hand, Aang held it in front of him as he did a spin kick with his airbending to fly towards the fireball. Thanks to the shield being made of vibranium and the increase in speed, Aang was able to bash through rock in full force. After the debris from the fireball fell away, Aang screamed as he tried to keep himself from falling. Lucky for him, he fell backwards onto Appa with the four in the saddle grabbing hold of him. Appa flew through the blockade at tower level as he and the group entered the Fire Nation.

Appa then flew from the blockade and deeper into the Fire Nation. Aang was excited as he shouted with a raised fist, "We made it!"

While he, Steve and Natasha all had looks of excitement on their faces, Katara and Sokka were surprised, but not too thrilled as Sokka said, "We got into the Fire Nation." He hunched his shoulders a little as he said, "Great."

Steve and Natasha laughed a little as the former patted Sokka on the back. Aang then turned around and handed Steve his shield back. With an appreciative smile he said, "Thanks for lending this to me."

The Captain only give him a smile before giving a salute.

On the deck of the blockade ship, the captain asked Commander Zhao, "Where do you think the Avatar is headed, sir?"

"I'm not sure," Commander Zhao honestly said. He had an idea who did as he turned toward the incoming burning ship and said, "but I bet a certain banished prince will know."

As Prince Zuko's ship made its way towards the blockade, two bigger ships were closing the gap. Iroh grew worried as he said, "We're on a collision course."

"We can make it." Prince Zuko said with great confidence.

On board the Commander's ship, a team of soldiers stood behind the Captain as he said, "The boarding party is ready to apprehend Prince Zuko, sir."

"Wait." The commander ordered as an idea came to mind. He then ordered, "Cut the engines and let them pass."

This surprised the Captain as he asked, "Sir?"

But the orders were carried out and the line of ships stopped with a hiss. Prince Zuko's smoking ship moved between the bows of the bigger ships with no commotion. Commander Zhao looked down to the prince as he received a glare back. Prince Zuko's ship cleared the blockade and continued its pursuit of the Avatar. On the deck of his ship, Prince Zuko, the Winter Soldier and the beard stroking Iroh looked back to the blockade, thinking what the Commander's game was.

x

Appa flew at constant pace with no more danger at the moment. Appa groaned as he continued flying. Time slowly passed by as Appa made his way to the island. To pass the time, everyone in the saddle looked around. A few hours later, they all sat around looking bored. And then near the end of the day, all five people and Momo laid either on their backs or their stomachs. Aang was about to fall asleep when the lemur on his head perked up at something. When Aang looked to see what the lemur was seeing, a smile grew on his face as he said, "There it is."

The group shot up in the saddle to look. Appa started to land as Aang said, "The island where Roku's dragon took me."

x

Sunset was fast approaching, and with it the winter solstice was about to end. Appa had behind some cover not too far from the long stair-bridge that connected the temple to the beach. Aang, Katara and Steve stood near the bison while Natasha and Sokka were stretching after the long flight. Aang hugged the bison's head as he commended Appa, "You did it, buddy. Nice flying."

"Very nice flying, Appa." Steve said as he scratched the bison behind the ears. Appa groaned as he turned on his side. Katara felt sympathetic as she rubbed the bison's belly while saying with a smile, "Oh, you must be tired."

"No, I'm good." Sokka said with a grunt as he stretched out his back. Then doing a few other stretches, he then started to run in place as he said, "Refreshed and ready to fight some Firebenders."

Katara turned to her brother and placed a hand on her hip as she said, "I was talking to Appa."

This caused to Sokka to freeze. Then he made a snarky remark, "Well, I was talking to Momo."

Said lemur had been doing some pull ups on a nearby tree. He looked over when it heard his name and made a purring sound. Natasha only shook her head at the small lie.

x

The group slowly made their way up the bridge to the temple. When they were close to the building, they hid behind a small wall and surveyed the grounds of the Fire Temple. Sokka looked about and said, "I don't see any guards."

"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." Katara guessed before she stroked the back of the lemur's head. Natasha then said, "That might be one guess, but we won't know for sure until we go in."

"It's almost sundown." Aang said as he stood up. He jumped over the wall while saying, "We'd better hurry."

The others quickly followed behind him as they ran for the flame shaped door. They ran inside just as the sun continued to move towards the western horizon. Momo glided in after them as they came into the central chamber. The chamber had three other doors. One by one, with Aang in front and Sokka in the back, they walked through the chamber. The group carefully made their way inside until Sokka whispered, "Wait." Everyone froze as he said, "I think I heard something."

Everyone looked back to find five men dressed in red robes and hats that looked like flames. The leader, whose robe had a different design without a jewel on his chest but on his hat, spoke in a raspy voice, "We are the Fire Sages, guardians of the Temple of the Avatar."

Thinking that they would make things easier, Aang stepped forward and said, "Great, I am the Avatar."

"We know." The lead sage said before taking a breath and raising both hands before launching a fireball from his fist. Three other Fire Sages launched a fireball after the head Sages. Cap moved in front of the group and placed his shield in front as the fireballs struck. The shield protected the group as Aang launched a counterattack by jumping over Cap and spun. As he came down he let an air wave fly towards the Fire Sages. They jumped over the attack and took a fighting stance. Looking back Aang said, "I'll hold them off. Run!"

Trusting the Airbender's judgement, Cap took the rear as they ran down the hall. Then with a sweeping kick he sent another air wave at them. The Sages jumped over it again, but this time Aang sent a vertical wave at them. The wave knocked the Sages to the ground on their faces. When they looked up, they saw that the Avatar had run off. The lead Fire Sage, not happy about this, told them what could happen as he stood up, "If the Avatar contacts Roku, there's no telling how powerful the boy will become." Looking to his fellow Sages he ordered, "Split up and find him."

They split up down the other three halls to stop Aang.

Katara, Sokka with Momo clinging to his back, Steve and Natasha all ran down the hall. At an intersection, Aang ran in front of them and turned while saying, "Follow me."

"Do you even know where you're going?" Sokka asked before following their friend. Steve was in agreement as he said, "Yeah, Aang, do you?"

"Nope." Aang quickly said as he turned left down a hall. The other four were about to turn when Aang came running back and shouted, "Wrong way!"

They soon knew what he meant when a Fire Sage walked around the corner. The four took off running after Aang as the Fire Sage shouted after them, "Come back!"

Aang took a right at an intersection and was followed by his friends. But as it turned out, it was a dead end. Aang slid to a stop as the others looked behind them to the approaching Fire Sage. Natasha had a deadpanned look as she commented, "Nice navigation skills, kid."

The Fire Sage came closer and tried to calm the situation by raising his hands and saying, "I don't want to fight you. I am a friend."

The group didn't believe him and took a stance with Aang in front of them as Sokka said, "Firebenders aren't our friends."

"Yeah, most of the Firebenders we've met have wanted to kill or capture us." Natasha said as she pulled out a pistol just in case. For some odd reason, Momo wasn't on the defensive as the others.

The Fire Sage stepped closer and did something the group wasn't expecting. He kneeled before Aang with his face down to the floor. He then said, "I know why you're here, Avatar."

"You do?" Aang asked as he relaxed. The Fire Sage nodded and stood up. Then he said the reason, "Yes. You wish to speak to Avatar Roku." The others relaxed their guard as he said, "I can take you to him."

"How?" Aang asked. Natasha chuckled to herself as she asked, "Do you have some sort of magic trick?"

Instead of telling them, the Fire Sage looked to his left towards a lamp and twisted it to where it hung diagonally. Underneath it was a hole that went deeper. Then placing his palm over the hole, he sent a small burst of fire into it. The flames spread to a section of the wall and created a rectangular shape in it. A door slid open and revealed a natural cavern with stairs going down. The Fire Sage then pointed down the path and said, "This way."

The group was a little reluctant about this. Then they heard the lead Fire Sage shout, "Find him!"

The Fire Sage before them looked back and then said to the group, "Time is running out. Quickly."

Seeing as how they didn't have any other choice, Aang, Steve, Katara, Sokka and Natasha with Momo clinging to her shoulder nodded to each other before going into the secret passage. The Fire Sage was the last to go in as he turned to a lever that closed the door and moved the lantern back into its original position.

As they walked down the stairs, Steve smirked and said to Nat, "How was that for a magic trick."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes as they kept moving.

x

The day was nearly over as Prince Zuko's smoking ship continued to make its way after the Avatar. Near the top of the ship's tower, Prince Zuko tightly gripped the railing as he thought about what Commander Zhao was up to. He asked to the two men behind him, "What's he up to, Uncle and assassin? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"I think all three of us know the answer to this." The Winter Soldier said. Iroh knew this as well as he said, "The Winter Soldier is right, it's because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after: the Avatar."

An idea formed in Zuko's head and said, "If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do."

x

The sun was getting closer to the horizon near the Fire Temple. Shyu had introduced himself on the way down. As Shyu guided the group through the caverns, he told them the history of the Temple, "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home." They reached the bottom of the stairs as he continued, "He formed these secret passages out of the magma."

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked him. Shyu told him, "No, but my grandfather knew him."

The group could feel the heat from the magma was he said, "Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong, spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang asked as they walked. They walked along side a river of flowing magma as he said, "A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes began to glow."

Steve asked Katara, "Isn't that when-"

She knew what both men were talking about and said, "That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there, too."

Momo ran ahead a little as Shyu then said, "At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world."

Something was on Aang's mind as he asked Shyu, "If this is the Avatar's Temple, why did the Sages attack me?"

"Yeah, I mean if this place is dedicated to the Avatar, shouldn't the Fire Sages hold more respect to an Avatar?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow. Shyu didn't sound happy as he explained, "Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return, but he never came."

Aang placed a hand on a column of rock and dejectedly said, "They were waiting for me."

"Hey, don't feel bad." Sokka said as he put a hand on the Airbender's shoulder. He then made the comment, "You're only a hundred years late."

This earned him a slight glare from Aang and a slap to the back of the head from Steve. Sokka begrudgingly rubbed it as they kept walking. Shyu turned and then further explained, "They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him." He looked down in shame and shook his head as he said, "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord." He sounded determined as he said, "When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."

"That's quite an action for you, Shyu." Steve said as he stepped closer to the Fire Sage, "It must have been hard to do this to your friends. But I think we all appreciate this."

Aang was in full agreement as he slightly bowed and said, "Thank you for helping me."

Shyu gave a smile from the Avatar's gratitude. At the end of the caverns, they came to another set of stairs as Shyu explained, "We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary."

"Talk about your cardio workout." Natasha commented as they began climbing.

When they were halfway up the stairs, Shyu then told Aang what to do, "Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

When they reached the top of the stairs, Shyu and Steve moved a panel above them. When it was completely opened, they took a look around before the group came into the chamber around the sanctuary. As Shyu stepped closer to the sanctuary door, he gasped and said, "No!"

The doors were decorated with a red jewel over five dragon heads with their maws wide open. The group noticed his distress as Aang asked, "Shyu, what's wrong?"

"The sanctuary doors, they're closed." Shyu said, knowing that this could be a problem. Steve looked to the Fire Sage and asked, "Do you think one of the other Sages did it on purpose?"

"More than likely." Shyu said as Aang grunted as he tried to push the doors open. Katara then turned to him and asked, "Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?"

"No." Shyu said as he explained the situation, "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone." Aang hung his head to what he wasn't yet and the placed a hand on the door as Shyu said another method of opening the doors, "Otherwise, the sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka said as he thought to himself. He looked above him and a bell dinged when an idea formed in his head as he told Shyu, "I think I can help you out."

Everyone in the group looked to the Water Tribe warrior to see what the kid had in mind.

x

Prince Zuko's burning ship continued smoking as it sailed. Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier stood on a smaller boat as it was lowered into the water. Prince Zuko looked up to Iroh and told him, "Uncle, keep heading north." He then explained his plan, "Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover."

"Mm…" Was all Iroh said as he started to stroke his beard and shook his head. He turned to the Hydra assassin and asked, "Please keep an eye on my nephew."

The Winter Soldier only nodded as he raised his rifle. The smaller ship disappeared into the smoke as the ramp rumbled while returning to its former position.

x

From his ship, Commander Zhao looked through a telescope as he followed the burning ship. But as he lowered it, he noticed that Prince Zuko's ship was starting to turn North. It made him very suspicious.

x

Back over in the Fire Temple, Steve kneeled on the floor as he helped Sokka fill some sacks with lamp oil as Sokka explained his plan, "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. We seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing." Both Steve and Sokka tied the last two bags as Sokka continued, "Shyu lights the oil-soaked twine and ta-da!" He presented the makeshift explosive with a little pride, "Fake firebending."

As Steve made Momo poking one of the sacks, the others gave an impressed smile as Katara complemented her brother's plan, "You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka."

"This might actually work." Shyu said with a hopeful smile. Natasha smiled as well as she said, "Now let's put this plan into motion."

Steve and Sokka placed the five sacks into the mouths of the dragons and made sure they stayed inside. Shyu did give a warning about this plan as the two finished, "The sages will hear the explosion. So, as soon as they go off," He turned to Aang and said, "you rush in."

Sokka and Steve finished and ran back to the others. Sokka hid with Katara, Momo and Natasha while Steve hid with Aang. The Waterbender looked to Aang as Sokka plugged his ears and said, "It's almost sunset. Are you ready?"

Giving a confident nod, Aang said, "Definitely."

Shyu raised his right hand and let loose a tiny blast of fire. The flames quickly struck the strings one by one. When all five strings were lit, Steve said, "Okay, Shyu, get out of there."

The loyal Fire Sage nodded and ran to the column where both the Avatar and the super soldier were hiding behind. All seven watched and waited for the explosion, well six watched, the master of the plan kneeled down to his sister's feet and whimpered with his eyes tightly shut. When the flames reached the sacks, five huge explosions went off. When it was safe, Aang ran forward to the smoke and tried to open the door by the handle. But when they wouldn't budge, he looked back and shouted, "They're still locked!"

Shyu's face fell as he sadly sighed. Sokka stood up as they all look to the doors as Shyu then said, "I didn't work."

Aang fell on his knees, thinking that he had failed. And outside the Fire Temple, the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon. Aang stood up and looked at the door in rage. He sent waves of air at it while slowly saying, "Why… won't… it… open?!"

But before he could throw another slash of air, Katara grabbed his arm and sternly said, "Aang, stop! There's nothing else we can do."

"She's right, Aang." Steve said as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Aang looked to him as he said, "There's no use in getting worked up over it."

Aang's head hung as he said, "I'm sorry I put all of you through all this for nothing."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Aang." Steve said, "We'll find a way to get in before the sun sets."

Sokka and Natasha walked up to the doors, where Sokka ran a finger through the soot. He was confused as he said, "I don't get it." He turned to the others while saying, "That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen."

Momo jumped to the central lock and stuck his head inside. Natasha then looked at him and said, "Though it was a good effort, Sokka, I think I might know where the plan went wrong."

"Really?" Sokka asked, not knowing what she meant, "How?"

Looking to the door, she explained, "I think this lock was designed to take in a powerful stream of fire, not just a burst of it. And since you and Steve made the oil skins to act like a burst the door wouldn't take it. But you were right about it looking like powerful firebending."

Katara then realized something and said, "Sokka, you're a genius."

"Wait, how is Sokka a genius?" Aang asked, confused as he said, "His plan didn't even work."

"Come on, Aang, let her dream." Sokka said as he leaned against the door. Katara; however, nodded as she said, "You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work, but it looks like it did."

The two Avengers thought about what she was saying before they caught on. Steve then said, "I think I know what you're talking about Katara."

Aang wasn't entirely convinced, nor was Shyu really other, as he asked, "Did the definition of genius change in the last hundred years?"

x

The other Fire Sages quickly ran to the doors of the sanctuary as Shyu yelled, "Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary."

"How did he get in?" The head Fire Sage asked in shock. Shyu acted baffled himself as he said, "I don't know," He pointed to the doors and said, "but look at the scorch marks." Then he pointed to the crack of the door and said in well-fake worry, "And down there."

The sages saw a shadow on the other side of the door. Not wanting to lose time, the head sage said, "He's inside!" Turning to his fellow sages he ordered, "Open the doors immediately, before he contacts Avatar Roku."

On one of the columns that was made into the shape of a winged Chinese dragon, Aang brought himself to the floor and waited for the right moment. The Fire Sages formed a line, raised their arms and all five threw a stream of fire at the locks. The dragon head locks creaked as the central head turned a hundred and eighty degrees while the other four lowered themselves closer. The flames on top parted before the doors slide open. The Fire Sages, minus Shyu in truth, stood ready. But they would be disappointed when they saw Momo, sitting on the floor covered in soot. With a big sneeze he sent the soot flying off. He looked up to the Fire Sages as the head Sage said, "It's the Avatar's lemur." Feeling that they had been played, the Sage angrily said, "He must have crawled through the pipes. We've been tricked!"

At that moment, Momo sprang for the head Sage with a screech and knocked the screaming man over. Katara, Sokka and the two Avengers ran from out of their hiding places and used two of the sages robes against them, with Sokka over doing it a little. Just as the fourth Fire Sage was about to help them, Shyu grabbed his arm and shoulder, then made him bend backwards. With his adversary subdued, Shyu turned to Aang's hiding place and shouted, "Now, Aang!"

But the Airbender didn't move from it, making the others worry. While Sokka and Steve pinned their Fire Sage to the floor while holding their arms, Natasha and Katara had their Fire Sage's arms behind his back. Katara looked over and shouted, "Aang, now's your chance!"

"Come on, kid! What are you waiting for?!" Steve questioned. But Aang wasn't alone when he came from behind the dragon shaped column. Prince Zuko had the boys arms behind Aang's back as he led him away. While the others gasped at this, Cap felt the barrel of a rifle against his back. Looking behind him, he saw Bucky with his gun pointed at him. Steve whispered, "Bucky."

But his friend didn't seem to acknowledge the name or his old friend as he kicked Steve off the Fire Sage. Natasha looked over and her eyes grew wide as the Winter Soldier raised his gun and fired a shot. Acting quickly, Nat knocked Katara to the ground to avoid the shot. Prince Zuko then said, "The Avatar is coming with me." Looking to the Winter Soldier he said, "Keep them busy and then join me later."

The Winter Soldier nodded before getting kicked in the stomach by Nat. Katara and Sokka were about to help, but the Fire Sages they helped to take down got up, grabbed them and placed them in a hold. Shyu's captive flipped around and moved his arms behind his back. The lead Sage wrestled to get Momo off of him, but the lemur took his hat and took flight with his prize.

Before he left with Aang, Prince Zuko ordered the Fire Sages, "Close the doors… quickly!"

Aang looked back to see Steve and Natasha engaging the Winter Soldier while the four Fire Sages chained Sokka, Katara and Shyu to a column. The two Water Tribe teens looked around to Aang. Not wanting it to go down this way, Aang struggled to get out of the grip, and when he did he maneuvered himself behind Prince Zuko and used a kick of air to knock the prince down the stairs. He ran to his chained friends, but Katara knew what was more important at the moment and motioned with her head while shouting, "Go!"

He turned towards the door as the Head Fire Sage moved to stop him. Looking to his right, Aang saw the Winter Soldier standing over the downed Cap and Nat. An idea quickly formed in his head. The head Sage threw a stream of fire which he jumped over and then grabbing the Sage, he maneuvered him to where he could throw the Sage at Bucky. The Winter Soldier looked up just as the older man crashed into him. Then with a quick jump over the other Sage, Aang narrowly made it into the sanctuary as the doors closed. When they clanged shut, the flames and the dragon head locks moved back into their original positions.

Katara smiled as she shouted, "He made it!"

A bright blue light shone from the sanctuary, causing all who were looking to quickly close their eyes. Inside the sanctuary, Aang rose to his feet as he looked up to the statue of Avatar Roku. The light from the setting sun hit the statue on the symbol of fire in its hands. The light from the stone high on the wall radiated as it continued to shine for as long as it could. But when nothing happened, Aang was very confused as he recited what Shyu told him, "The light hits the statue, and I talk to Roku." He then asked aloud, "So why isn't anything happening?"

x

Outside the sanctuary, Prince Zuko and the other four Fire Sages took a deep breath as they raised their arms in simultaneous fashion before launching a stream of fire into the locks. The rim of the door smoked a little before dissipating and the doors remained unopen. This confused the prince as he questioned, "Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut."

"It must have been the light." The hatless head Sage deduced. He knew what the light meant as he explained, "Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside."

x

The sun was starting to disappear over the horizon, and the Winter Solstice was almost over. Nothing still happened with the statue. It frustrated Aang as he questioned to no one in particular, "Why isn't anything happening?"

Feeling stressed out he placed his hands on his head as he said, "I don't know what I'm doing." He lowered them as he said, "All I know is airbending." Then he asked to him, "Please, Avatar Roku, talk to me!"

The glow of the sun started to cover the statue, and as it spread over the statue's eyes they glowed. Aang watched and waited as a spiritual mist started to fill the room. The air around him whooshed as it brought Aang to a section of the spirit world, and standing before him was the spirit of his predecessor: Avatar Roku.

Avatar Roku then said, "It's good to see you, Aang." He had a smile as he rhetorically asked, "What took you so long?"

Aang, amazed at first, became respectful as he placed his right fist in his left palm and bowed to his predecessor.

x

Back in the physical world outside the sanctuary, the Winter Soldier chained Cap and Nat with Sokka and Katara after a quick fight. While his former friends stood behind him, a kneeling Shyu had his hands bound to his back as Prince Zuko questioned, "Why did you help the Avatar?"

"Because it was once the Sage's duty." Shyu said as he remembered the true duty of the Fire Sages. He was determined to keep it by saying, "It is still our duty."

The sound of clapping caught everyone's attention, and all eyes turned to the source. Commander Zhao smirked as he and a team of Firebenders walked up from the steps. He then sarcastically commented, "What a moving and heartfelt performance." His smirk stayed as he said, "I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."

The Head Sage respectfully bowed as a Firebender came next to Prince Zuko by the arms and said, "Commander Zhao,"

"and Prince Zuko," Commander Zhao said. The Winter Soldier moved to help the prince when he was stopped by two other Firebenders as they readied themselves to fight. The Commander Zhao then sarcastically said, "it was a noble effort," Prince Zuko glared at him as he said, "but your little smoke screen didn't work.

"Two traitors, and a potential traitor, in one day." Commander Zhao said, feeling quite confident as two Firebenders came up and apprehended Prince Zuko from behind, "The Fire Lord will be pleased."

"You're too late, Zhao!" Prince Zuko said as he stayed defiant. He turned to the doors while saying, "The Avatar's inside, and the doors are sealed."

"No matter." Commander Zhao said, knowing that if he waited, he would have his prize. He looked to Zuko as he pointed out a crucial point, "Sooner or later, he has to come out."

Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha looked to each other in worry as they knew the commander had a point.

x

Back in the spirit world within the sanctuary, Aang and Avatar Roku stood on top of a mountain as the former Avatar told his successor, "I have something very important to tell you, Aang. That is why, when you were in the spirit world, I sent my dragon to find you."

"Is it about that vision, the one of the comet?" Aang asked. Roku had a grave look on his face as he said, "Yes."

"What does it mean?" Aang asked, wanting to know if it were good or really bad. Avatar Roku then explained the comet's purpose, "One hundred years ago," The sky in spirit world changed into a starry one as the comet passed by the two Avatars, "Fire Lord Sozin used that comet to begin the war. He and his Firebending Army harnessed its incredible power and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations."

The sky changed back as Aang asked, "So the comet made them stronger?"

"Yes, stronger than you could even imagine." Avatar Roku said. But Aang became confused as he said, "But that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?"

"Listen carefully." Avatar Roku told him as a dark image of Fire Lord Ozai with flames around him appeared in Aang's mind as his predecessor said, "Sozin's comet will return by the end of the summer, and Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all."

The image of Ozai gave a roar as a burst of fire erupted from his mouth. Avatar Roku then told Aang, "If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world." Aang felt as if a great burden were placed on his shoulders as Roku said, "Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord, before the comet arrives."

"But I haven't even started learning waterbending," Aang said in distress, "not mention earth or fire."

"Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice." Roku told him as if it were easy. But Avatar Roku sounded dire serious as he said, "But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."

Aang felt a little terrified at the thought letting the world down as he looked to Roku.

x

Back in the Fire Temple, Zhao and his team of Firebenders stood before the doors to the sanctuary. The Firebenders took a stance as they began a deep and eerie chant. Standing before them and the door, Zhao then ordered, "When those doors open, unleash all your fire power."

"How's Aang going to make it out of this?" Katara asked her fellow captives. Steve looked about and then honestly said, "I don't know."

"How are _we_ going to make it out of this?" Sokka asked, a little more worried about them at the moment.

x

Aang had a little self-doubt as he asked, "What if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?"

"I know you can do it, Aang," Avatar Roku told him to give him some confidence. Then with a smile he reminded him, "for you have done it before."

Aang smiled as well as he knew that Roku had a point. They both noticed this as Avatar Roku said, "The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways…" Then he made it sound cryptic, "for now."

Aang thought about when he truly needed Roku and then said, "But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?"

"I am a part of you." Avatar Roku said, thinking of how they are connected in the Avatar cycle. He then told him, "When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way."

Avatar Roku had a slight smile as he closed his eyes. Aang did the same as they began to speak to each other with their thoughts. Images appeared in their minds as Avatar Roku told him, " _A great danger awaits you at the temple._ " Three Fire Navy ships sat near the temple while Commander Zhao and his Firebenders stood at the ready, " _I can help you face the threat, but only if you are ready."_

Aang's tattoo's started to glow as a blue hue took over his entire being. His eyes glowed as he spoke with the distorted voices of his past lives, "I'm ready."

The wind and sky began to swirl in the spirit world as both incarnations of the Avatar prepared themselves.

x

In the Fire Temple, the doors to the sanctuary started to glow white as steam billowed out from the bottom of the door. Everyone who was not poised to attack watched in amazement. When the doors started to slide open, a blue light shone from them, causing those who were chained to look away from the blinding light. When the light dissipated, Commander Zhao said, "Ready?"

As the door opened whiter, two glowing white eyes could be seen in the darkness. Concerned for their friend, Sokka and the two Avengers struggled to break from the chains as Katara yelled, "No! Aang!"

"Fire!" Zhao ordered. He and his team of Firebenders threw a streaming fire fist forward. But instead of burning their target, the fires from the Firebenders started to swirl. The flames were moved to allow them to see Avatar Roku bending the fire around him. Commander Zhao and everyone looked in shock as Shyu said, "Avatar Roku!"

Then, Roku brought the flames close to him before launching it back at the Firebenders. Zhao and his men were able to protect themselves from the fiery assault even though it knocked them over. The flames brushed past those who were chained, but harmed not the people but melted the chains. Now free, Zuko and the Winter Soldier made a break for it as they ran out of the Temple. The fire caused the wall facing the sun to explode outward. The blue-bodied Avatar Roku stood with his fists his clenched. Then he turned to those who desecrated the temple with a glare. His stare caused the four other Fire Sages to run away in terror. The Avengers and the Water Tribe kids stayed near the column as Shyu said, "Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple. We have to get out of here!"

"Not without Aang!" Katara shouted as she looked to Avatar Roku. Steve said, "That's right, we won't leave a man behind." He looked to Shyu and said, "But you've done enough for us. Get out of here."

Shyu, though wishing he didn't, made a quick exit. Avatar Roku lashed his hand downward and used firebending to make a crack in the floor. Then raising his hand, he used a mixture of bending stir the magma bellow the temple. The magma erupted from the floor as Firebenders quickly ran out of the temple. A long stream of lava traveled from the caverns all the way to the roof. The molten rock destroyed the point on top of the temple. Commander Zhao and his remaining Firebenders ran down the stairs as the lava spout continued.

Back in the chamber surrounding the sanctuary, Steve and Natasha shielded Sokka and Katara as they rode this out. Avatar Roku then lowered his arm and let the lava fall back into the earth. Giving a relieved sigh as he placed his hands before him with the palms facing down, he relaxed himself with a calming breath. As the solstice ended, the fading light on the statue of Avatar Roku soon disappeared. And when the light left the eyes of the statue they stopped glowing. This caused the blue-bodied Avatar Roku to draw steam to swirl around him as the previous Avatar went back to the spirit world. When the steam dissipated, Aang moaned as he slumped to the floor.

Steve, Natasha, Sokka and Katara all ran and caught him as he gave a weary grunt. Sokka then assured the Airbender, "We got your back."

"Thanks." Aang said out of gratitude. He looked around and asked, "Where's Shyu?"

"I don't know." Katara said as the four helped their friend walk. Steve looked forward and said, "Hopefully he made it out."

The sun had nearly disappeared over the horizon as the Fire Temple started to sink into the ground. The five came to the stairs only to find that lava was bubbling up from it. A falling dragon column caused friends gasp and ran towards the hole in the wall. When they saw that the Temple was starting to sink, the group looked in despair as they had no idea what they were going to do. But they let out a surprised gasp when they saw Momo, with his prize, and Appa flying close to the Fire Temple. Sliding down the tilting roof of the temple, they fell into Appa's saddle as he stopped. When everyone one was on board, Appa flew away from the crumpling Fire Temple. As he flew back to the Earth Kingdom, his passengers looked back to the Fire Temple until Aang was distracted as Momo popped up with his new hat. Looking back, they watched as the temple explodes from the magma.

x

Commander Zhao watched in anger as the bison took off into the crimson sky. Turning he said with fury, "No prince, no Avatar…" He looked to who he did have and angrily said, "Apparently, the only thing I do have is five traitors!"

Shyu stood with the other four sages as the head sage tried to plea for his and the three who were loyal to the Fire Lord, "But, Commander, only Shyu helped the Avatar."

Shyu gave the man a glance. But Zhao was in no mood to hear what the head sage had to say, "Save your stories for the Fire Lord." He narrowed his eyes and said, "As far as I'm concerned, you are all guilty!"

Turning on his heels, he ordered four Firebenders, "Take them to the prison hold!"

x

From his smaller boat, Prince Zuko watched the bison's movement as he and the Winter Soldier made their way back to his ship. He lowered the telescope as the boat sailed away from the island. He turned to the Winter Soldier and said, "I want to thank you."

This made the Hydra assassin look at him with a raised eyebrow as he asked, "For what?"

"For staying by my side." Was all Prince Zuko said more of the subject.

x

Appa flew over the clouds in a night sky. Aang had his head hung as he thought about what he had to do to save the world. He had told his friends what Avatar Roku told him, and they knew that a serious weight had been placed on the boy's shoulders. All four of his friends moved to him and tried to comfort the stressed Airbender. Even Momo tried to make things write by flying in front of Aang. The lemur chittered as he sat in front of Aang while Appa grunted in feeling Aang's burden.

The group didn't say anything as they kept flying off into the moon.

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: And with that, Chapter Eight of Book One is done. With this story, I wish my friends a Happy Thanksgiving! And as I have said, I gave a cameo appearance to our favorite comic book man. There will be more cameos of the man in future chapters. I will also be doing a small story with four extra cameos. I would have also done the first three episodes, but there doesn't seem to really be anywhere to place him. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	9. Chapter 9: The Waterbending Scroll

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. And here is the second part of the Winter Solstice of Book One. I am so excited. And as I said in the last episode, I will be dedicating each episode of Avenging Avatar to Stan Lee. And just to let you readers know, Steve will hardly take off his shield and helmet so just saying. He will have a cameo appearance in most of the episodes, so be on the lookout for him. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Katara looked down as she told Steve and Aang, "You're looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole."_

" _What about the North Pole?' Aang asked, "There are some Waterbenders up there, right?"_

 _As the group flew on Appa, Katara then recited of what order Aang had to master the elements as she said, "According to legend, you need to master water, then earth and fire, right?"_

" _That's why were going to the North Pole," Katara said to Aang as he sat on his knees in the burnt forest, "to find you a teacher."_

" _Yeah, a waterbending teacher." Aang said, not feeling the same thing._

" _But I haven't even begun to learning waterbending. Not to mention earth and fire." A distraught Aang told his predecessor Avatar Roku._

 _Roku then told him, "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and patience. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."_

 _This causes Aang's face to fall in despair as he felt the weight of the world falling onto his shoulders._

x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Nine: The Waterbending Scroll**

Though it was somewhat cloudy day, the sun still shone through the clouds as Appa flew near the tops of a mountain range. As the bison passed between a gap in the mountains, most of the group was sitting with Appa and Natasha on Appa's head while Steve, Katara and Momo sat in the saddle with a standing Aang. The Waterbender and the super soldier watched as Aang paced around in the saddle, clearly lost in thought. It was growing to be aggravating to some of them.

"Would you sit down?" Sokka commented to his friend. The Water Tribe teen looked back as he said, "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off." Then not remembering he asked, "What's bugging you anyway?"

"You're kidding, right?" Natasha asked with a slight glare. Aang then told them why he was pacing around in a panic, "It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."

"Well, let's see." Sokka said as he looked at Aang's progress so far, "You pretty much mastered airbending, and that only took you a hundred and twelve years." He offered a few comforting words by saying, "I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

This didn't do much to help Aang as he looked way more stressed than before and said, "I haven't even started waterbending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What am I gonna do?"

Natasha then slapped the driver of the bison in the shoulder when she saw him lightly smirking and said, "Good going, Sokka. Now he's even more rattled."

"Well first, I think you should sit down." Steve said as he and Katara grabbed Aang's wrist and pulled him down into sitting the saddle. Katara knew what to do as she said, " Is to calm down. It's gonna be okay."

Then looking into Aang's distressed eyes, Katara offered, "If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."

Aang perked up and asked, "You'd do that?"

"Now that I've thought about it, even though she isn't a master," Steve said in reference to Katara as she nodded, "learning from a beginning Waterbender is still learning from a Waterbender."

"That does have some logic in it." Natasha said when she started to think of it. Katara with Aang following behind her. They looked to the ground as she said, "We'll need to find a good source of water first."

Sokka tried to be funny as he turned and said, "Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in."

"And the bad jokes never stop rolling." Natasha said with an eye roll. This earned a deadpanned glare from Sokka as they kept flying.

Thirty Minutes Later…

After finding a spot to land, they unpacked their supplies from Appa. The group came by a large waterfall that fell into a river. Though it was a good spot to learn, two of the five looked in awe while two others were impressed while the final member sarcastically said, "Nice puddle."

Even Appa seemed to enjoy it as he flew into the water and created a huge splash. The giant wave washed up to Momo as he sat on a rock. He screeched in panic when he saw the wave coming. Getting up, the lemur shook off the excess water. Appa gave a contended grunt as he rolled over in the water. Thinking that it looked fun, Aang undressed down to his underwear and said, "Yeah! Don't start without me, boy."

"Uh, Aang." Steve tried to say. The Airbender was about to jump in when his teacher raised an eyebrow as she reminded, "Remember the reason we're here."

This stopped Aang in his tracks and looked behind him as he remembered, "Oh, right. Time to practice waterbending."

"Great." Sokka said as he felt as if he had nothing to do while Aang started to put the rest of his clothes back on, "So, what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

"You could… clean the gunk out of Appa's toes." Aang suggested and picked up a stick that looked like a brush. Sokka looked at the stick before looking at the Airbender and he skeptically asked as he crossed his arms, "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work, picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?"

"Mud and bugs." Aang added. Natasha then placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder and suggested, "Me and Steve were about to practice our combat drills. You could train with us." But she looked to Steve before whispering to Sokka, "But I have to warn you, Steve can hit really hard. Even without the shield."

This caused the Water Tribe teen to look scared. Then he took the less painful root and grabbed the stick while saying, "Okay."

Natasha laughed as he walked away, making sure to stay clear of Steve as he went by. This causes Steve to give Nat a questioning look. She only shrugged as Appa deeply grunted after having turned over and making bubbles in the water with his mouth.

x

Somewhere within Earth Kingdom waters, Prince Zuko's ship's horn blew as it sailed. On the deck, a fireball flew off the ship indicating a scuffle. Prince Zuko and another Firebender were wearing sleeveless tunics as they practiced their Firebending. Prince Zuko threw another fire fist at the soldier, before ducking under the incoming fist of the Winter Soldier. Just as Prince Zuko was about to defend himself, the ship leaned to the right and made all three warriors stumble to the railing. After stabilizing himself, Prince Zuko looked up to the tower and said, "Someone's changing our course."

Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier quickly made their way up the tower. When he arrived first, the prince walked over to the helmsman and angrily questioned, "What's the meaning of this mutiny? No one told you to change course."

"Actually, someone did." General Iroh said from his spot. He and three other crew members were playing a game. Two crewmen sat down while the third watched behind their shoulders. His uncle then said before taking on a pondering pose with a hand to his chin, "I assure you it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."

"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Prince Zuko asked, his patience feeling trifled. But all Iroh said was, "Even more urgent. It seems I…" He became distraught as he said, "I've lost my lotus tile." Then he moved another tile forward.

"Lotus tile?" Prince Zuko asked, confused over the situation. Even the Winter Soldier was confused as he leaned to Zuko and whispered, "What exactly is a lotus tile?"

"Not sure," Zuko whispered back, "but I bet we're about to find out."

"For my Pai Cho game." Iroh explained, "Most people think that lotus tile insignificant." He slide another tile as he said, "But it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."

"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?" Prince Zuko questioned in disbelief and aggravation. Iroh then said, as if proving a point, "See, you, like most people, underestimate its value." Then he basically asked, "Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call." His face perked up and pointed a finger up as he said, "Hopefully, they'll have the lotus tile in stock," Then he became serious when he placed a hand to his beard and said, "and I can get on with my life."

Prince Zuko, not a totally heartless monster, didn't say anything as he huffed in annoyance. Then in a fit of aggravation, he breathed a breath of flame that turned into a huge smoke cloud. The smoke quickly and completely over took the room. General Iroh then had a smile on his face and his hands in his sleeves when he said, "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew."

Then the was covered with the smoke at the end of his sentence.

x

Back at the falls, Sokka was working hard to clean whatever it was between Appa's head left paw. The bison grunted in content as Sokka worked. Sokka then commented, "Yeah, don't get too happy." Then he sarcastically said, "You've got to do me next."

As he started to really scrub, Appa gave another contented grunt while flapping his ears. Steve watched the Water Tribe teen hard at work and saw another stick that looked like a brush. Picking it up, the super soldier moved to go help Sokka out. Natasha on the other hand, was watching the waterbending lesson.

Aang sat with his legs crossed as he listened to Katara. She prepared herself as she said, "This is a pretty basic move," Then taking a Waterbenders stance, she started to push and pull the water, "but it still took me months to perfect."

Aang smiled as he watched her give the lesson as she said, "So, don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away." Aang gave a nod in understanding as she instructed him, "Just push and pull the water like this."

With her arms outstretched, she started to sway back and forth, and with her grip on the water it moved back and forth with her. Then she gave a little advice on how to do it, "The key is getting the wrist movement right."

Still smiling as he stood up, Aang then began his practicing by coping her movements. A assuming the same stance, Aang then began to attempt to push and pull the water. Then he asked, "Like this?"

Katara kept hers up while looking over to check Aang's progress. She noticed that the water didn't move and said, "That's almost right. If you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually…"

"Hey, I'm bending it already!" Aang said with a smile as he was able make big waves as he pushed and pulled the water. Both Katara and Nat were surprised to see him pick it up so quickly, the former more so than the latter as Katara said, "Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly." She looked a little down as she said, "It took me two months to learn that move."

Aang noticed her fallen expression and decided to cheer her up by saying, "Well, you had to figure it out all on your own." He was humble as he said, "I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher."

Katara seemed to appreciate this and said, "Thanks."

Steve ran over to Sokka and Appa when the bison had drifted close to the shore. Then he held up the stick and asked, "Hey, Sokka, needs some help."

Sokka took a moment to think and was about to say no, but then he looked to see the remaining five feet. Then with a half-smile, the Water Tribe teen said, "Okay."

With a smirk of his own, Steve hopped onto the bison's belly. Both warriors then got to work.

Eager to learn more, Aang asked, "So, what's next?"

"This is a more difficult move. I call it "streaming the water."" Katara said, feeling that it was time to give him more of a challenge. Assuming her stance, Katara then pulled out a small rope of water and started to make it flow around like a stream. Knowing from experience she moved the small stream and told him, "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if…"

When she looked over to see how Aang was coming along, she was both stunned to see that he was already pulling out a small stream and began moving it around. First he made it circle before making to go vertical, then he made the stream zigzag to the left and then made it arch over his head. Katara became a little annoyed at how fast and how easy he made it look. With an annoyed glare she abruptly dropped her gathered water back into the river. Aang then twisted to make the stream go a full circle before letting it slip back into the river too. Katara was impressed as she complimented, "Nice work." But then she comment a little with a deadpanned expression, "Although the over-the-head flair was unnecessary."

"Sorry." Aang said, feeling that he over stepped a boundary. Wanting to see what else his teacher had in store, the Avatar then said, "Well, don't stop now. Keep them coming."

"Remember, Katara," Natasha said making both Benders look over to her, "you gotta keep your cool when teaching. And I wouldn't try anything too big."

Katara nodded before addressing Aang, "Well, I kind of know this one other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't even totally figured it out yet." She then assumed her stance for the third time and said, "The idea is to create a big, powerful wave."

Then with low arch motion, she raised her hands and started to bring up a large bubble of water. Katara strained to keep the wave up. But it popped when she couldn't hold it. Then Aang decided to give it a go and asked, "So, like this?"

He performed the same movements; the only difference was that he held his arms higher. He created a tall wave that started to fall over Sokka and Steve as they worked. Both of them were working hard until Sokka got a funny feeling. Turning around he saw the wave coming and had a comical face as he shouted, "Aang…!"

Steve turned to look to and he shouted, "Aang, make it stop!"

But it was too late as the wave crashed onto the bison. Appa grunted from the wave and looked up to find that Steve and Sokka had disappeared with his tongue sticking out. Both of them rose out of the water with annoyed expressions. Natasha tried to hold in a laugh and turned away as she held her breath. Aang felt pretty good as he looked to an annoyed Katara and said, "Looks like I got the hang of that move. What else you got?"

"That's enough practicing for today." Katara said as she turned her irritably annoyed expression away. Sokka was just as annoyed as he said, "Yeah, I'll say." Steve pointed down the river as their things. Then Sokka said, "You just "practiced our supplies down the river."

"Uh… sorry." Aang apologized, even though it wouldn't have done much. He tried to lift their spirits by saying, "I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff."

"My life was hard enough when you were just an airbender." Sokka commented. Steve watched as the boy went back under the water with an arched eyebrow.

x

There was a ship port where most boats could dock to supply or the crew's of the ships could rest. There was chatter in most of the stands.

Soon Aang rejoined the group as they walked through the rest of the stands. As they walked by, the soon found that the place was full of different characters. Even a few thuggish looking people as someone picked up another man who pleaded for his life, "Please, put me down."

The five passed by another stand with a man holding a blue sack filled with something as he shouted, "Believe the wonder in this bag." Each of the group looked around with different expressions as the man asked, "Who's brave enough to like into this bag?"

Sokka and Katara had worried expressions while Steve, with his helmet off, and Natasha kept themselves ready in case. As the group entered the market section ,Aang was the only one with a smile on his face. Aang walked by one of the stands that sold a bunch of neat looking whistles. As he looked over them, he saw a whistle that was in the shape of a bison. Picking it up, he walked up to the man who owned the stand and asked, "Excuse me, sir? How much for this bison whistle?"

The man, an older fellow with a small mustache, happened to be cleaning a pair of orange tinted glasses. The man placed the glasses before his eyes and looked to the whistle. Then he said, "Normally, I usually sell my custom made whistles for five copper pieces," He looked Aang over before saying, "but since you seem such a nice young man, I'll sell it to you for one copper piece."

"Sold!" Aang said as he placed the copper piece on the table. He placed the bison whistle in his pocket and waved to the man as he left. He looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Thanks, again!"

The man smiled as he watched Aang walk away. Then as he organized his remaining whistles, he said, "What a nice young man."

x

In another stall that sold different foods, Katara and Natasha sat against the window sill of a nearby window while Aang sat down. Steve and Sokka came out of the stall and from the look on Sokka's face, he wasn't very happy when he said, "Okay, we've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave to us."

"So that means that we should spend it wisely." Steve warned. Aang decided to confess about something, "Uh, make that two copper pieces, Sokka." He brought out what he bought, "I couldn't say no to this whistle."

All four of them groaned when they saw what he had done. Then with a sharp inhale, he blew into the whistle. Sokka and Natasha covered their ears to block out the sound, but what came out was mostly air. When they didn't hear anything, both the Water Tribe warrior and spy unplugged their ears and the former commented, "It doesn't even work."

Aang stops blowing into the whistle as Momo squawks at him. Sokka then thought that the whistle got on the lemur's nerves too and said, "See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."

"I guess someone gave you a bad deal, kid." Natasha commented with a half-smirk. Aang looked crestfallen at this. Then Katara decided to make sure nothing else happened to their money by holding out her hand and said, "No offense, Aang, but I'll hold the money from now on."

"That might be the smart thing to do." Steve said. Aang then reached into his belt and pulled out the last two remaining copper pieces before placing them in her hand. The coins jingled as they fell into her hands as he face fell again.

x

The group then came to the docks where ships of different kinds had made port. A man stood outside of one of the ships and tried to bring in customers by saying, "Earth Nation, Fire Nation, Water Nation," then he made up a rhyme and said, "so long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here. Don't be shy, come on by."

He then saw Aang and the others walking by and shouted, "Oh! You there." Quickly running up he then said, "I can see from your clothing," when he looked between Steve and Natasha he said, "And you two as well, that you're special world-traveling types."

"Well, he's not wrong there." Natasha whispered to Steve. The man then said with a wink, "Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"

"Sure." Aang said as they stopped. But then he asked, "What are curios?"

The man looked Aang and blinked before admitting, "I'm not entirely sure," but he perked up when he said, "but we got 'em."

The man gave a big smile as he wrapped an arm around Aang's shoulders and led him to the boat. The group walked into one of the ship's cabins and saw all the things they had. Aang gasped when he saw something interesting, but became confused when he leaned closer, "Huh?"

Sokka, Steve and Natasha were looking at other items and Katara stood before a statue with red gem eyes and a red gem necklace. Katara gave it a strange look as it stared right back at her and she thought she could hear noises. Momo chattered on Aang's shoulder as he walked to another section of the room. The lemur switched shoulders as Aang leaned forward. Then a voice from behind said, "I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur."

Aang turned around and saw a man in the door way at the back of the room. The man had an eye on Momo as he said, "That beast would fetch me a hefty sum," he stepped out, wearing what appears to be a captain's hat, shawl and had some sort of reptilian bird sitting on his shoulder preening itself, the man then said, "if you'd be interested in bartering."

The bird stopped preening and screeched at them both. The others turned to see the man to see Momo screech himself at the bird. Aang wrapped a protective arm around the lemur and said, "Momo's not for sale."

The man noticed the shield on Steve's back and said, "How about you, big fella? Interested in something for that nifty shield?"

"Shield's not for sale either, I'm afraid." Steve said with a firm voice. The man just shrugged and walked behind the counter.

Katara then walked over to cubby like shelf and saw something that caught her eye. In the center cubby, a scroll with the Water Tribe symbol. Reaching down to it, Katara grabbed the scroll and pulled it out. When she unrolled it, she was amazed to find it filled with waterbending moves. Katara had a big grin on her face and gasped and then she said, "Look at this, Aang. It's a waterbending scroll."

Aang, Steve and Natasha walk over to see it as she shook her head in amazement while saying, "Check out these crazy moves."

Aang smiled himself as he looked down at the scroll. He turned to the man in the captain's hat and asked, "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?"

The man slammed his hand on the scroll and started to put it away as he said, "Let's just say I got it up north, at a most reasonable price: Free."

He placed the scroll in the center cubby on the top. Katara couldn't take her eyes off of it, really wanting to master those moves. Sokka then noticed something as he looked through the merchandise, "Wait a minute." He started to put it all together, "Sea-loving traders with suspiciously acquired merchandise? And pet reptile birds?" He figured it out as he turned to the man they met on the docks and basically spit on his face as he shouted, "You guys are pirates!"

The man kept his cool as he wrapped an arm around Sokka and tried to ease the situation by saying, "We prefer to think of ourselves as "high-risk trader.""

"That's still basically along the terms of a pirate." Natasha told him with her arms crossed. Katara stood with the captain at the counter and looked down at their remaining copper pieces before asking, "So how much for the, uh, "traded" scroll?"

"I've already got a buyer- a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom." The captain said. But then he got interested as he leaned closer and said, "Unless, of course, you kids and your parents have two hundred pieces on you right now."

"Do we look like we're the kind of people who has that kind of money?" Natasha questioned. Then she became sassy as she said, "And we're not their parents."

Aang leaned to Katara and smiled as he whispered, "I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle."

He held out his hand and she placed the copper pieces in it. He moved to the pirate captain and told her, "Watch and learn."

Katara walked away with Momo running after her and Natasha followed after them. Aang walked up to the captain and said with a pirate voice, "What say ye to the price of…" he played with the piece in his hand and flipped through the air and said, "one copper piece."

The pirate captain laughed from his attempt before becoming serious, "The price is two hundred gold pieces." He shook his head as he informed Aang, "I don't haggle on items this rare."

"Okay," Aang said as he pulled the piece back. He put on his pirate voice again as he presented both pieces between his fingers, "two copper pieces."

But the pirate captain wasn't amused by it this time as he said, "It's not as amusing the second time, boy."

Aang didn't like how he was being stingy. But before he could do anything, Katara came up behind him and said, "Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks."

"She's right," Natasha said, "let's get out of here."

"Aye," Aang said one final time in his pirate voice as he grabbed his staff, "we be castin' off now."

All five soon walked down as Aang questioned both the Waterbender and spy, "What was that all about, you two?"

"Yeah," Sokka said in agreement, "I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection."

"And I was looking at some neat helmets." Steve said as he placed his own back on.

"I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here." Katara said as they walked away from the ship. Nat was in full agreement as she asked, "Those guys were giving you the creeps too?"

Katara didn't say anything as they kept moving. The man they met on the dock ran to the bow of the ship and shouted, "Hey, you! Get back here!"

"Well, well, look who's come to their senses." Aang said as he turned to the ship. He talked to the others as Katara fearfully backed away, earning looks from both Steve and Sokka, "Told you the haggling would pay off."

But it didn't seem that way as the pirates came off the ship growling and pulling out their weapons. One of the pirates swung onto the dock and pulled out two sickles and showed off his moves as the rest of his fellow pirates joined him. All five looked at the pirates with shocked expressions.

It was a standoff as Aang, Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha stood against the pirates. The pirates really looked as if they wanted to fight for reason as some of them shouted, "There they are. Get 'em. Nobody's goin' nowhere."

They all start to laugh menacingly at the group.

"I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us." Katara said as they saw that they were outnumbered. The five then turned and ran the other way, making the pirates shout, "Get back here!"

The group turned left into the market place. Some of the pirates angrily muttered as they followed. But the pirate in green stopped and told the others, "This way. Let's cut them off."

"Whoa…!" Sokka shouted as they took a right. Seeing a bowl of water, Katara grunted as she raised her arms to send it on the ground. Then acting quickly, she froze the puddle. The ice puddle tripped up one of the pirates and sent him screaming as he hits a stand. The other pirates jump over the frozen puddle and continue the chase.

The cabbage merchant from Omashu stood by his new cart as he happily sight while hugging a head of cabbage. He set the head down with the others and was about to move the cart when Sokka bumped into it. The cabbage merchant was quick to catch three falling cabbage heads before they hit the ground. Katara accidentally bumped into the cart and made two more fall, which the man caught. Steve and Natasha were able to move by the cart without incident. The latter shrugged to the man and said as she ran, "What are the odds, right?"

The man didn't say anything as Aang jumped through the cart. When he landed on his feet, he used his staff to send the cart flying at the pirates. The men see the cart coming and turn the other way, but the cart crashes into them nonetheless. The cabbage merchant shouted in distress, "My cabbages!" His distress turned into annoyance as he said, "This place is worse than Omashu." Then he walked away in defeat.

The pirates groaned in pain as they lay about the ruins of the cabbage cart.

The five continued running through the streets as the fled from the pirates. But the pirate in green and his side of the crew came upon them. The green pirate laughed, "Ha-ha!"

Sokka moans while Momo chittered in fear before they turned the other way. One of the pirates shouts as they after the group, "I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives."

But as the last pirate goes to follow, he is struck in the face by a frying pain. The user of the blunt instrument was the man with the tinted glasses. He looks down at the pirate and scolded, "That's what ruffians like you get for messing with one of my best customers."

He looked around to see if there were any other pirates before saying, "I'd better get out of this joint while I still can."

The man turned to run, but looked back to where Aang and his friends disappeared and said, "Good luck, kid. Excelsior!"

Then he ran down the street without looking back.

Aang and his friends ran down an alley but stopped when they came to a dead end. They turned to face the remaining three pirates as the one in green questions as he readies his weapons, "Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?"

"No, thanks." Aang said before doing a spin with his staff to send a huge dust cloud at them. The men cry out as the dust cloud hits them. Steve turns to Aang and said, "You, Katara and Sokka get out first. Me and Nat are right behind you."

Not questioning his friend, Aang motioned with his hand for them to come. As they ran Aang shouted, "Grab on tight!"

Katara became confused as she asked, "Aang! Thought we were running away from the pirates."

But she and her brother grabbed onto Aang's ankles nonetheless as he said, "Just hang on."

Steve and Natasha followed closely as Steve shouted to her, "New York invasion after I've thrown the shield."

Natasha knew what he meant and said, "Got it!"

"Whoa!" Sokka and Katara screamed as they came closer to the pirates. Aang rose higher into the air and Sokka stepped onto each head of the pirates as they went by.

As the kids rose into the air, Steve removed his shield from his back and threw it hard at the pirates. The pirates screamed as they saw the incoming projectile. The vibranium shield hit the green pirate first and ricochet off the other two, knocking them off their feet. When it came back to him, Steve then turned towards Nat and held his shield at an angle. She jumped and he gave her a boost onto the roof. Then turning towards the pirates, Steve decided to do something crazy. Running at the pirates as they stood back up, the super soldier used his enhanced speed to go faster. The biggest of the pirates saw that the captain was coming at him and grunted as Steve used him as a springboard. Jumping off the pirate, Steve then flew onto the roof of the same building and climbed up. He and Nat joined up together and ran off as the kids flew from the docks. The pirates watched in anger as the group got away.

x

Back at the waterfall, the group joined up as Aang closed up his glider. As he did so, Aang then said, "I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible."

Aang then sat down against a rock. Steve then noticed that both Katara and Natasha kind of had a smug face and asked, "What's got you two all happy?" He stepped closer as he said, "Something's making me feel as if you two had something to do with that little skirmish. And I bet it wasn't anything good."

"You could say that." Natasha said as she kept smirking. Katara then revealed, "We know. That's why I took…" She held out the waterbending scroll, "this."

"No way." Aang said in disbelief. Steve was shocked nonetheless as well, "I don't believe this."

"Isn't it great?" Katara asked in excitement. Both Sokka and Steve weren't too happy about this as Sokka said, "No wonder they were trying to hack us up. You stole their waterbending scroll."

"I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading." Katara said as she defended herself. Natasha snickered while Aang laughed at it and said, "Good one, Katara."

"Don't encourage her, Aang. It was a risky and stupid move." Steve warned. Katara then looked to her brother and friend and questioned, "Sokka, Steve, where do you think _they_ got _it_? They stole it from a Waterbender."

"It doesn't matter." Sokka argued. He was really upset as he scolded her, "You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid fancy splashes."

"Sokka's right." Steve said with his arms crossed. They all looked to him as he said to both girls, "This is just like what happened on the North Star ship, not telling your teammates and doing something on your own."

"But this was an item that would be crucial in teaching Aang." Natasha argued. Katara was in full agreement as she said, "These are real waterbending forms from an actual master. You both do know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending. No matter how or what it comes to him."

Sokka just huffed in anger and walked away saying, "Whatever."

Steve only shook his head as he walked off too. Aang, not liking to watch his friends fight, still went along with the girls and said, "Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it."

x

Back in the market, seagulls flew over the ships as Prince Zuko's ship had docked there. If one compared its size to that of the other ships', people would see how much it dwarfed them. Prince Zuko, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier all stood outside the market. Zuko had his arms crossed in annoyance as Iroh gave the report of his search, "I've checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace."

"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for EVERYONE!" Prince Zuko said in Iroh's face. Iroh was quick to disagree as he said, "Quite the contrary. I always say the only thing better than finding something you are looking for," A group of three soldiers walked by with arm loads of items in baskets as Iroh happily said, "is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"

The last soldier carried some kind of horn. Prince Zuko then questioned, "You bought a Sunghi horn?"

"For music night on the ship." Iroh explained with a smile. Then he became serious and said as he walked away, "Now, if we only had some woodwinds…"

They soon came to a ship that had made port on its side. Iroh became hopeful as he ran and pointed to it while saying, "Oh! This place looks promising."

Seven minutes later…

The three walked onto the ship and started to look around. Iroh spotted the creepy statue with the rubies for eyes and a necklace. The older man became intrigued as he said, "Oh, that is handsome!" Then he asked to both an annoyed Zuko and confused Winter Soldier, "Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?"

He reached to hold as the pirate in green informed the captain, "We lost the Water Tribe girl, and the little bald monk and man in the blue uniform she was traveling with."

Both Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier overheard this and the former asked, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

"And the man in blue," The Winter Soldier asked, now interested to complete his mission, "Did he have a star on his chest?"

General Iroh just turned the statue and his head, making some sort of monkey chatter while coping its expression.

x

Back with Aang and Katara, they had unrolled the scroll to get a look at it. Katara found a move that she wanted to try and told Aang, "I just want to try this one move first, and then it's all yours."

Picking it up, she placed it in his hands and said, "Here, hold it open for me."

Aang took the scroll into his hands as she backed up to the river. Assuming her waterbending stance. She looked among the instructions as she read the name of the move, "The Single Water Whip."

The movements were to have the left arm outstretched with the right hand covering the face, then drawing a stream of water and forming it into a ball, then maneuvering it to form into a whip. Then drawing the water, she brought up a shaky stream of water. And as she performed the movements, it didn't go as planned as it smacked her in the forehead. She cried out in pain from the blow, "Aah!"

Sokka, sitting on a rock, laughed at his sister's misfortune. She had a small bruise on her forehead that faded when she bitterly questioned, "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, but you deserve that." Sokka said with a smug grin. He turned to Aang and regretfully said, "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn, once I figure out the Water Whip." Katara said in frustration. Then she began again and pulled out another stream of water. But once again as she went through the movements, it didn't go as planned and smacked into Momo's backside. The lemur shrieked in pain and then chattered in anger. He wasn't the only one to be angered as Katara cried out in frustration, "Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move?"

"Well, first," Natasha said as she came and placed a hand on the girls shoulder, "you need to keep a calm mind."

Aang put the scroll down and offered some encouraging words as he moved to show her, "You'll get it."

Katara wasn't feeling in the mood for his help as she stared at him with a slight glare. Bringing the water out, Aang went through the motions as he said, "You've just got to shift you weight through the stances." He pulled the stream of water away from the river and formed it into a ball before sending it out over the water as a whip. When he let the water go he said, "There. See? The key to bending is…"

"Will you please shut your air hole!" Katara shouted at him. This shocked him and the two Avengers as she said, "Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes." Then out of frustration and bitterness she shouted in his face, "Why don't we just throw the scroll away, since you're so naturally gifted?!"

She looked over to her brother and the two Avengers as Sokka had his arms crossed as he shook his head in disappointment. Natasha was still a little stunned while Steve just looked at her. Katara then questioned, "What?!"

Then she looked back to Aang and her expression changed as he looked at her as his lower lip started to tremble. This changed how she felt and she said, "Oh, my gosh, Aang." She tried to make it right by saying, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." She walked over to the scroll and then rolled it up while saying, "But you know what? It won't happen again."

Handing him the scroll, she said, "Here, this is yours." He took it as she said, "I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."

"It's okay, Katara." Aang said, trying to cheer them both up. Sokka then said and pointed to a certain lemur who was rubbing his backside, "What about Momo? He's the real victim here."

Katara walked over the lemur and apologized to him as well, "I'm sorry, Momo."

"And what about me?" Sokka said, trying to milk it, "There was that time you…"

"No more apologies!" Katara shouted, scaring both Sokka and Momo, making the lemur run away. But then she felt guilty as she looked over to Steve. Standing up, Katara walked over to the super soldier and said, "Steve, I want to apologize about the scroll and everything…"

Steve stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's alright, Katara. We all loose ourselves at one point or another."

Katara smiled up at him and said, "Thank you."

x

Back at the docks, Prince Zuko's ship had the ramp at the back lowered. This meant that the smaller boat was in use once again. It soon lowered itself into the water. The cord released the boat and it fell in with a big splash.

Soon, both Prince Zuko's boat and the pirate captain's ship traveled along the river. The captain stood with the prince on his ship as they sailed. The captain then asked, "Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?"

"We don't need to stop." Zuko said as if he knew something. He then pointed out, "They stole a waterbending scroll, right?"

"Mm-hmm." The captain nodded. Prince Zuko looked to him before looking out to the river saying, "Then they'll be on the water."

The captain figured that he had a point as he looked out to the river with him.

x

Later that night, as four out of five slept soundly, Katara was wide awake as she laid there thinking. Deciding to take action, she slowly got out of her sleeping bag and looked to the others as they slept. Quietly moving around the others, she quietly reached into the sack and pulled out the scroll. Then she slowly and quietly backed away from the campfire. When she turned towards the river, she stopped as she found herself looking into the face of Momo. The lemur sat on a stump as he softly purred at her. His ears drooped when Katara hushed him, "Shh! Momo. Go back to sleep."

Then she walked around him and the stump. Momo's ears perked up again as he started to purr again. She was quick to shush him again. Momo's ears drooped again as she walked off into the dark forest.

x

It was a little later in the night as Katara made it to the river. She assumed her waterbending stance and pulled a stream of water out of the river. She grunted as she tried to make the water move the way she wanted by moving her hands, but then threw the water down in frustration. Then she shouted in frustration, "Shoot!" before shouting to the river, "Come on, water, work with me here!"

Then grabbing another stream out of the water, Katara tried something different as she said, "Okay, what if I just…" She hit herself with it, "Ow!"

Unfortunately, her shout of pain didn't go unheard. Prince Zuko, the captain and the Winter Soldier now joining them heard Katara shout, "Ow! Stupid scroll!"

All three men looked to each other as they had found their target.

Katara then talked to herself as she tried again, "Okay, Katara, shift your weight through the stances."

But as she tried to move through motions, it fell out of her grip. She sighed in frustration as she thought of giving up. The sound of distant clattering from further down the river drew her attention away. Parting some of the brush back, Katara gasped when she saw Zuko's boat. She turned to run, but ran into a pirate. She turned to run the other way, but he grabbed her shoulders. She shouted, "No! Let go of me!"

Then acting quickly, she pulled a stream of water and threw it into the pirates face. When he let go, Katara then ran to get away from him. But slid to a stop as she nearly ran into Zuko. He grabbed her by the wrists and said, "I'll save you from the pirates."

x

Soon Prince Zuko, General Iroh, the Winter Soldier, a few Fire Nation soldiers and the pirates had Katara tied to a tree with her hands around the trunk. Prince Zuko then said, "Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!" Katara said in defiance. Prince Zuko then tried a different tactic and said as she moved her head the other way, "Try to understand." He moved around the tree as he gave the reason why, "I need to capture him to restore something I've lost: My honor."

She looked away as he smiled as he said, "Perhaps, in exchange, I can restore something _you've_ lost."

He then showed her by holding the necklace in front of its former spot around her neck. She looked in disbelief at the fact that he had it, "My mother's necklace." Prince Zuko walked around the tree and back in front of her as she angrily questioned, "How did you get that?"

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering." Zuko said, making a jab at what she did to the pirates. Then he was firm as he demanded, "Tell me where he is."

"No!" Katara defiantly said. The Winter Soldier then moved closer and leaned forward as he warned, "You might want to be careful in your choice of words." Looking to Zuko he said, "He's being the good cop." Then pointing to himself he said, "I won't be as nice when I question you."

Then standing straight, the Winter Soldier then said, "Tell us where to find the Avatar and the two Avengers with him."

"I'm not going to let you hurt any of them, Bucky." Katara said with a defiant glare. Prince Zuko became confused and asked, "Why did she just call you that?"

"I'm not entirely sure." The Winter Soldier said. Katara then shouted at him, "Yes, you do! You're Bucky Barnes! You're friends with Steve Rogers! You have to remember!"

His programming kicked in as he grabbed her by the chin. Prince Zuko was quick to act and said, "Stand down and gently release her."

The Hydra assassin complied and gently let her go. The pirate captain became fed up with waiting and said, "Enough of this necklace and name garbage." Then he demanded what he was promised, "You promised the scroll."

Seeing that the pirates were starting to forget to be patient, Prince Zuko pulled the scroll from behind him and conjures a flame in his other hand while saying, "I wonder how much money this is worth?"

"No!" A pirate cried out as the others gasped. Prince Zuko seemed smiled as he had them where he wanted them and said, "A lot, apparently." Then he promised them by saying, "Now, you help me find what I want. You'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy." Then he ordered, "Search the woods for the boy, the man in the blue uniform and the woman in black and then meet back here."

"Fine." The captain said before turning with a slight glare to the prince. Prince Zuko then turned to the Winter Soldier and said, "Go with them and make sure they stay on task."

The Winter Soldier nodded as he complied.

x

It was morning around the campsite as Natasha and the boys continued sleeping. That was until Sokka stirred and looked over to Katara's sleeping bag. He noticed she was gone with a, "Huh?"

He crept over to the bag and questioned, "Where did she go?" He looked into the bag and saw that the scroll was gone and said, "I don't believe it."

It stirred the others awake as Aang yawned before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, someone seems in a grumpy mood." Natasha said as she stretched.

He dumped out the bag and said, "She took the scroll. She's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep…" He didn't get to finish as a rope wrapped around his wrists and he shrieked when he was pulled away.

The pirate who threw it unwrapped it and then spun it over his head before throwing it at Sokka again. Sokka yelled as he rolled out of the way. He rolled towards his sleeping bag and picked up his club. Then with a determined look, the Water Tribe Warrior ran at the pirate. Aang assumed his Airbender's stance and was about to help when he looked back and saw another pirate with two huge crossbows over his shoulders. He lifted the weapons up and fired the arrows that were attached to a net. Aang sent an air sphere at it, but all it did was warp the net as it flew at him. Aang fell to the ground as he was entangled in the net. Steve saw this and shouted, "Aang!"

He picked up his shield and ran to help his friend. But before he could throw the shield, he had to block the incoming metal arm. The Winter Soldier was about to start fighting when a net ensnared Cap. He looked to the pirate who then shot at the incoming Natasha. As she fell to the ground and struggled to get out, she said with frustration, "Okay, this is just embarrassing!"

As Sokka was subdued by another pirate, Aang, Steve and Natasha's nets were dragged away. The pirate said to the others, "We've got them. Come on!"

The Winter Soldier glared as he started to follow the pirates back to the boats. As the pirates ran off, Sokka stood up and sarcastically asked, "Oh, what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?"

His answer to that was to be ensnared in another net. He shrieked as he was pulled alone.

x

It was later in the morning as Cap, Nat, Sokka and Aang stood in front of the pirates as they had their hands tied. Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier stood in front of the Fire Nation as the prince commended, "Nice work."

Prince Zuko had the scroll in hand as he walked over to make the trade. Three of the four struggled to break out of their bonds while Aang watched in uncertainty about how it could go. Katara then begrudgingly said to him, "Aang, this is all _my_ fault."

"No, Katara, it isn't." Aang said to console her. General Iroh made the moment awkward by saying, "Yeah, it kind of is."

Katara gave him a side glance to this. Prince Zuko then decided that enough was enough and said, "Give me the boy."

"And the two Avengers." The Winter Soldier added.

"You give us the scroll." The captain said, not giving in so lightly. Sokka then thought of something and questioned, "You're really going to hand over the Avatar and two of the Earth's mightiest heroes for a stupid piece of parchment?"

"Don't listen to him." Prince Zuko said, knowing what Sokka was doing. He then tried to warn them, "He's trying to turn us against each other."

But the pirates had become interested in what Sokka said as the captain asked, "Your friend is the Avatar?"

"And what exactly is an Avenger?" The pirate in green asked. Sokka leaned around the captain and answered both questions, "Sure is-" He turned to the pirate and said, "And the Avengers are some of the greatest heroes of all time from where they're from."

Neither Nat nor Steve knew what to say as Sokka then said, "and I'll bet that all three would fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Prince Zuko shouted in anger. Though not as angry, Aang was kind of in agreement as he said, "Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth."

Natasha then caught on to what Sokka was doing and said, "No, let him keep it up."

"I'm just saying, it's bad business sense." Sokka said as he kept it up. He played on their money fantasies as he said, "Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. Not to mention that someone had that guy over there with the metal arm look for these two, so they might give you a little extra," They looked over to the Winter Soldier and then to his friends and they perked up as Sokka said, "You guys would be set for life."

The pirates were in agreement as the captain turned to Prince Zuko and said, "Keep the scroll." He felt pretty good about what Sokka said as he smugly said, "We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for these three."

The pirates then began to lead their prisoners away. Prince Zuko then glared at them and darkly said, "You'll regret breaking a deal with us."

Then he and two of his Firebenders threw huge blasts of fire at them. The pirates screamed as they jumped out of the way. Then the pirate in green jumped over the flames as they touched the ground. Then running at the Firebenders, he threw three smoke pellets at them. When he threw them all, he had to duck under a blast of fire. The pellets landed to the sides of Prince Zuko and caused his men to cover their coughing faces from the smoke while he shot another stream of fire. A flying blade causes Zuko to shriek as he fell back into the smoke. Then the pirate jumped high into the air and dove into the smoke.

A trio of ordinary Fire Nation soldiers and the Winter Soldier ran around the smoke. The three Fire soldiers had their spears pointed at the kneeling Aang and Sokka. The two gasped in fear as they saw the shouting men coming. Cap and Nat stood their ground to defend the boys, but became surprised when four of the other pirates jumped around them, weapons ready, and threw down their own smoke pellets. The Fire Nation soldiers and the Winter Soldier stopped to look through the giant cloud of smoke, but the other three gasped as the pirates halfway jumped out and grabbed them. The Winter Soldier was about to be grabbed himself when he caught the last pirate's arm and pulled him out of the smoke. The pirate looked up to him in fear as he used his metal arm to hoist him in the air. Then with a mighty fling, the Winter Soldier threw the pirate into the river. Then with a yell of his own, the assassin jumped into the smoke cloud.

Katara watched the scene unfold in front of her as Momo climbed down the tree. She smiled as he began to chew through the ropes. And she was even more glad when he got them off. Rubbing her wrists and said, "Thanks Momo. I owe you a bushel of apples."

The lemur nodded in compliance before they both took off.

Inside their smoke cloud, Cap used his super strength until his bonds snapped off. He saw the silhouette of Natasha as she struggled next to him and asked, "Nat?! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She shouted back. He ran over to her but made sure to keep his guard up. When he reached her, he grabbed the ropes on her wrists and broke them with a yank. Nat rubbed her wrists as he suggested, "I say we find the kids and get the heck out of here!"

"No arguments here!" Natasha said. Then she saw something coming from behind him and made Cap duck as a spear passed over his back. Then jumping over her friend, Nat drop kicked the Fire Nation soldier back into the smoke. As they stood back up she joked, "You might want to keep your wits about you in here, hm."

Cap huffed in annoyance before running off into the smoke. Natasha did the same and ran the other way.

Aang walked through a different section of the smoke and coughed from it. When he stopped coughing, he saw some weapon coming his way. He grunted as he leaned back. The weapon sliced through the ropes on his wrists. He looked at his bindings as they came loose. He screamed as a spear nearly hit him in the back, "Aah!"

On the outside of the dust cloud, Prince Zuko shouted as he jumped out of the smoke, "Aah!"

Then he quietly slid the scroll behind his back through his belt. Even though it squinted, Prince Zuko's injured eye was able to see the incoming sword. He quickly turned and leaned back as the sword went over him. He glared and was surprised to that it was the pirate captain before glaring again. The pirate captain held his sword straight out before moving to a readied stance with a growl. The captain was able to move Prince Zuko's right arm to the left with his sword as the Firebender threw one. Then with a flaming spin kick, Zuko's leg was stopped by the pirate sword. Then the pirate captain lunged with his blade. Fortunately for him, Zuko used his left arm to block/divert it as sparks flew from it. He glared before using his other hand to make a fiery sweep. But the pirate captain was able to grab the hand while Zuko tried to keep the hand with the sword at bay. As the two grappled with each other, another pirate snuck behind Zuko and used a rope to grab the scroll from him. Prince Zuko looked back to the scroll flying to the man. But just as he reached for the incoming parchment, Momo swooped in and grabbed it with his back fee as he flew. This caused the pirate to shout in anger, "Hey!"

Momo flew by a tree that the pirate captain's bird crawled down from. It screeched when it saw the scroll and took off after the lemur. As he flew with the scroll Momo was tackled from the side by the bird, making him drop the scroll. It fell into the smoke cloud with the combatants still locked in battle.

Sokka crawled through the smoke as swords and other weapons clanged as they clashed around him. He stopped to take a look around as a knife hit the ground in front of him, startling him a little with a yell. Quickly getting over the shock of it, he used the blade to cut his bindings. As he moved his arms up and down the blade to cut the ropes he looks out into the cloud and shouts, "Aang? Steve? Natasha? Are any of you there?!"

"I'm coming Sokka!" Steve shouted as he ran through the smoke. A pirate came up to him with his sword raised, but Cap removed his shield and held it front of him as the blade came down. The blade broke on contact with the vibranium, causing the pirate to look at Cap in shock. Deciding to not get caught up in a fight with him, Cap took his shield and bopped it on the man's face. The man had a goofy grin on his face as he fell back words. Then he ran to where he heard Sokka's voice and found him as he had cut the ropes.

"I'm over here!" Aang shouted as he used airbending to jump up from the smoke. Then he instructed, "Follow my voice."

"Where? Me and Steve can't find you." Sokka shouted as he landed in the smoke. The Airbender then shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm right here!"

Natasha then appeared out of the smoke and said, "I think we might need a different tactic, kid!"

Seeing that she was right, he tried something different and with an outward thrust of both arms, he used airbending to clear the smoke. But he and Natasha soon found it to be a bad idea as it awkwardly revealed that they were surrounded by both Fire Nation soldiers and pirates alike. Acting quickly, Aang brought the smoke back with his hands high above his head and then shouted, "Uh… never mind! We'll find you!"

Both Steve and Sokka crawled out of the smoke just as Aang jumped with Nat in his arms out. As the two sailed in front of Cap and Sokka, Aang shouted as he landed, "Run!"

None of them hesitated as Steve and Sokka stood up and they ran along the river. They saw Katara trying to push the pirate's ship back into the water. Aang happily exclaimed, "Katara, you're okay!"

"Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get out of here." Katara said as she struggled to push. Natasha then questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Are you sure we can move this thing?"

"We should at least try!" Steve said as he moved to the other side of Katara and started pushing on the boat. The other three joined them and started pushing as well. All five grunted with effort as they pushed. When it only budged an inch thanks to Cap's strength they stopped. Natasha looked to Cap and remarked, "Wow. Even with super strength you can barely push a boat."

"Hey! It's not like I'm the Hulk." Cap retorted. But Sokka was kind of on Nat's side as he said, "We need a team of rhinos or this Hulk person to budge this ship."

Aang had a smile on his face as he thought of something. He looked to Katara and said, "A team of rhinos… or two Waterbenders."

The other three knew what he meant as Katara gave him a grateful glance. Steve looked back to the fight and saw a familiar figure emerge from the smoke. Readying his shield, Cap turned to Nat and said, "We need to by them some time." Turning to Aang and Katara he said, "Make sure to be quick and then let us know!" Looking to Sokka he said, "Watch their backs, alright."

Both Waterbenders nodded in confirmation and quickly assumed their stances. Cap and Nat walked towards the Winter Soldier as the assassin stepped out of the smoke. Cap placed his shield on his left arm as Nat readied herself. The Winter Soldier stopped and reached down. He pulled a knife from his boot and twirled it between his fingers. The three looked at each other and prepared themselves. Then with a yell, both sides charged at one another. Cap ducked as the Winter Soldier swiped his knife at him. When his foe spun the knife in his hands and pointed it down, Cap grabbed his wrist and grappled with his old friend. This allowed Natasha to come in from the side with a kick to him. The kick landed and knocked the Winter Soldier off to the side. He looked over just in time to see her trying to use an axe kick on him. But he was able to grab her foot as it came down and then used his other shoulder to knock her away. She rolled off to the side as Cap ran at him. Both men started a slug fest with Cap and Steve punching each other in the face at the same time. When they looked at each other, Cap tried to talk to Bucky again, "Bucky! Please, listen to me!"

"Funny." The Winter Soldier said as he raised his fists, "The little Water Tribe girl tried to talk to me too. But I am not really in the mood for listening."

With another yell, the Winter Soldier spun the knife again and made to strike at his former friend. But Cap blocked the blade with his shield and the blade shattered to pieces. Then with his metallic arm, he tried to punch Cap. But the untimely arrival of Natasha caught him off guard. With a punch to the face, she sent the Hydra assassin staggering. The Winter Soldier looked up as both Cap and Nat stood side by side.

Both Aang and Katara immediately got to work on moving the boat. With low swinging motions with their arms, both Benders brought the river water onto the shore. After for swings of their arms, the river came higher on the shore and made the ship rise up. All three of them had wide grins on their faces. Katara turned to Sokka and said, "Get Steve and Nat's attention so we can all get in."

Sokka nodded before running off. As Cap and Natasha stood side by side, the Winter Soldier started to move around him when something came in from behind and hit him in the back of the head. The Winter Soldier looked to see Sokka standing a few feet away with his arm outstretched. The Water Tribe teen looked at him with a regretful glance and uttered, "I'm sorry."

But before the Winter Soldier could do anything, Cap came in with a punch to his face. His old friend fell to the ground unconscious. Sokka then said, "Come on. The ship's ready."

All three of them started to move to the ship. Steve slowed for a moment to take one last look at Bucky. He silently said, "Goodbye, Bucky. I promise to help you. Some day."

He quickly turned his head away and ran for the pirate ship. All five quickly used the ladder on the ship to board.

Both Prince Zuko and the pirate captain continued to trade blows, but still not land a hit on the other. When the captain maneuvered around the prince, Iroh quickly made him lower his sword arm while pushing on the back of Zuko's ponytail. The two stopped fighting as he said to the captain, "Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your ship has set sail?"

"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" Prince Zuko exclaimed in irritation, thinking that his uncle was having one of those moments. But Iroh was quickly to make them see by saying and pointing to the river, "It's no proverb."

Both Prince Zuko and the pirate captain look to the water to see that the ship was indeed setting sail. The captain became shocked as he shouted, "Bleeding hog monkeys!"

The pirate captain then took off running after the ship with Prince Zuko laughing at his misfortune. The Winter Soldier, know having regained conscious, walked up to them and said, "I wouldn't be so quick to laugh."

He pointed to the river and they saw that the pirate crew had taken Prince Zuko's smaller boat. The pirates started to laugh at the prince's misfortune as one of them was about to moon him. In annoyance Prince Zuko shouted, "Hey!" He moved around his uncle and the Winter Soldier to run after them while shouting, "That's my boat!"

The Winter Soldier immediately followed. Iroh took the moment to ponder with his hand to his beard and said, "Maybe it should be a proverb."

"Come on, Uncle!" Prince Zuko shouted. General Iroh then ran after them.

x

Aang and Cap stood on the roof at the back of the ship to see that the pirates in their stolen ship gaining on them in their stolen ship. Aang turned to Sokka who was at the wheel and asked, "Sokka, can't you make it go any faster?!"

"Some more speed would be really nice about now." Cap chimed in. Sokka was flummoxed as he told them, "I don't know how." He looked back and worriedly said, "This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe."

"No offense, Sokka," Natasha said from the side of the ship. Sokka looked down as she said, "but you'd make a pretty terrible pirate."

This resulted in Sokka scowling down at her. But before anything else could be done, Cap and Aang looked to their left to see the Fire Nation boat next to theirs. Cap yelled down to the others, "Heads up! We're about to be boarded!"

Some of the pirates started to jump off from their stolen boat onto the pirate ship. All five of them prepared themselves for a fight. Two of them get ready to attack Katara when Aang jumps from one end of the roof to another and using a powerful wave to knock them both off. Both pirates scream as they were washed away. Unfortunately, only one pirate was washed off the boat. The other pirate hit the railing. Seeing that he was still on the ship, he got up and prepared to attack again.

Katara, unsure of what to do at first, became determined as she performed the moves of the water whip. She performed them flawlessly as she sent the pirate flying off the ship. While she looked excited, bot Nat and Aang looked in amazement as the latter joyously said, "Hey! You did the Water Whip!"

"I couldn't have done it without your help." Katara smiled as she admitted it. Natasha gave her a thumbs up and said, "Not bad, kid."

"Will you three quit congratulating each other and help us out?!" Sokka said as he and Cap were in a weird knot with the pirates. The big pirate had a sleeper hold on Sokka while one of his arms stuck out. Sokka had his legs wrapped around the pirate in green's neck and that pirate had Steve in a choke hold with the super soldier twisting the pirate's leg.

But before they could do anything, Momo flew by with the captain's bird still chasing after him. Both lemur and bird flew out over the river, growling and shrieking as they gave chase. The bird kept gaining as Momo flew away. Soon the two flew close to the river and stuck a wing in the water. When they turned back to the ship, Momo climbed up one of the sails with the bird following and punching holes in the fabric. As they flew over the smaller pirates flag, Momo went around it and grabbed the end with his back feet. When the bird started to follow him, Momo was able to entangle the bird with the flag. The bird squirmed to get out.

As Cap and Sokka continued to battle the two pirates, Cap ran at the one in green who moved to the side. This caused Cap to run over the railing and hit the deck. He laid there with a groan. The bigger pirate hoisted a screaming Sokka into the air and threw him at one of the sails. The pirate in green then complimented, "That's good."

But while they were observing their work, Aang jumped down from behind and used an air sphere to shove the green pirate through the railing. When the bigger pirate rushed him, Aang dodged around and used a sweep kick to knock him over. But before the pirate hit the ground, Aang created a funnel of air under the pirate, surrounded himself underneath and shot the pirate to other side of the boat and into the river. With both pirates down, Aang jumped down to Sokka while Nat checked on Cap. As they tried to wake up their friends, Katara saw something and shouted, "Hey, look!"

Up ahead was a huge waterfall. Aang saw it and gasped in dread, "Oh, no."

The pirate in green came up behind him and pulled out a knife. Aang reached into his pocket and pulled out the bison whistle. This confused the pirate as Aang took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. And just when the pirate was about to attack, Cap smacked him in the face with his shield and Sokka came from behind knocking the knife out of his hand and then with a round house, he knocked the pirate off the ship. Sokka then walked past Steve towards Aang and questions, "Have you lost your mind?! This is no time for flute practice!"

All five looked over the railing and watched as the ship came closer to the waterfall. Quickly thinking, Katara said, "We can stop the boat." Both Aang and Katara assumed their waterbending positions and started to slow the boat as she said, "Aang, together, push and pull the water."

They leaned forward before drawing their arms back. Aang kept track of his movements as they continued. A whirlpool from the bending formed in front of their ship, making it turn on its side. Katara noticed it and shouted, "It's working! It's slowing down!"

Both Waterbenders shifted around to keep it up. After a few more strokes of their arms, another whirlpool formed as it kept the ship from going over. Both Aang and Katara smiled at their success as she said, 'We're doing it!"

The other three smiled for a moment before looking back. Their smiles faded as Natasha said, "Um, guys, you might not wanting to be celebrating it too soon."

"Yeah, cause we have another problem." Sokka said as he pointed at the incoming Fire Nation boat. The boat came at them and rammed into the pirate ship, making both Aang and Katara lose their concentration. They all screamed as the boat tipped over from the blow. Both ships started to go over the falls. As they slid to the edge of the pirate ship, Aang shouted, "Jump!"

They all screamed as they jumped over falls and fell. Sokka screamed as they all took each other's hands and fell to the bottom. But at the last possible second, Appa came flying in and caught them in his saddle just as both ships fell over the falls. Both ships fell into the river and sent a huge wave down it as Appa flew away.

Holding up the whistle, Aang proudly said, "I knew a bison whistle would come in handy." He looked down to the bison and gratefully said, "Thanks, Appa."

"Yeah, we owe you one." Sokka said as Momo landed on his shoulder and wrapped his long tail around the teen's head. Steve chuckled and then said, "I guess you made the right move by buying that thing."

Appa grunted in agreement as he flew.

X

Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier ran to the cliff's edge and the prince shouted when he saw the wreckage, "My boat!"

"That's not gonna be easy to replace." The Winter Soldier remarked. General Iroh caught up with them and leaned over to take a breath. After taking a few deep breaths, a smile formed on his face as he chuckled before putting his hands in his sleeves and saying, "Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this." He pulled something out of his sleeve as he smiled a big grin while saying, "The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"

All Prince Zuko did in response was huff in anger at losing the Avatar, his boat and now this. His uncle had his eyes closed as Zuko swiped the tile from his hands. Iroh then looked to his empty hand and then watched as Prince Zuko threw the tile over the cliff. The tile flew far and hit the pirate in green in the head.

X

As they flew high above the clouds, Katara turned to Aang and said, "Aang, I still owe you an apology."

All five and Momo sat in the saddle as the four others looked at her as she had her hands in her lap.

She looked guilty and downcast as she admitted, "You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Katara." Aang said to make her feel better while Sokka placed a hand inside his shirt. Natasha placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "And don't worry. Next time you feel competitive that it gets this bad, we'll make sure to help you snap out of it."

"That's right." Steve said in agreement. Then Katara, feeling a little better, rhetorically asked, "Besides, who needs that stupid scroll, anyway?"

"Is that really how you feel?" Sokka asked as he held something in his hand. The others were surprised that he got it. Katara looked up and said in astonishment, "The scroll!"

She moved to grab it, but Sokka held a hand in front of him while keeping the scroll away from her. Then he asked, "First, what did you learn?"

Katara, now knowing her lesson, said, "Stealing is wrong."

Seeing that she got the gist of it, Sokka then moved to give it to her when she swiped it out of his hand. She had a smirk on her face as she added, "Unless it's from pirates."

Aang, Steve and Nat all started laughing from this as they flew. Aang pointed to her and said again, "Good one, Katara."

x

It was past noon as they made it back on his ship, Prince Zuko still had a scowl from the entire experience as he walked through the halls. They had just recovered the smaller boat from the river and brought it back inside the bigger ship. As he walked through the halls, something started to plague Prince Zuko's mind about earlier in the morning. Something about what the Water Tribe girl had said about the Winter Soldier. But he decided after both a good mediating session and a training session to work it off, he would question the Hydra assassin about the name of: Bucky Barnes.

x

 **This story is dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: This was a fun one to write. You've seen that I gave Stan Lee a little more than just a cameo appearance in this episode. Just to let you know, I have something very special for the next episode since I'll have reached the halfway mark of book one. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. I will see you all guys next time.


	10. Chapter Ten: Jet

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. And here is the second part of the Winter Solstice of Book One. I am so excited. And as I said in the last episode, I will be dedicating each episode of Avenging Avatar to Stan Lee. Also he will have a cameo appearance in most of the episodes, so be on the lookout for him. I have a special plan for this episode since it is the halfway mark of Book One. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Katara brought Aang sitting down in the saddle and told him, "If you want, I could teach you some of the stuff that I know."_

" _You'd do that?" Aang asked, touched by his friend's kindness and Katara nodded._

 _Katara held a waterbending scroll as they flew away._

x x x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Ten: Jet**

In a forest with leaves mixed with colors that were a mixture of red and orange, a beetle crawled over a log. As it came stop, a shadow loomed over it. It opened its wings and took off as Momo landed where it was. The lemur looked to see if he had it. He was disappointed to see that he hadn't and took off after the bug. Momo chased it up and around the trunk of the tree. The bug landed on the ground and Momo tried to pounce on it again, but didn't have any luck as it flew off again. He was about to take off after it again, but stopped when he turned and looked to see a pile of lychee nuts sitting on some leaves. Hunger overtaking him, Momo leapt at the pile. But it turned out to be a trap as a cage sprang from under the leaves. Momo screeched in fear as he was hoisted high into the air with a couple of hog monkeys. The two hog monkeys grunted either in fright of being in the cage or as laughter from Momo's misfortune. Back with Aang and the others, Aang looked around and asked, "Where's Momo?"

Soon all of them heard the lemur screeching in the distance. This caused the group to look around for him.

x x x

The group found the lemur and the hog monkey's as they looked up into the air. Acting quickly, Aang crouched and used his airbending to jump up to the cages while shouting, "Hang on, Momo!"

Using his airbending to jump higher as he bounced from tree to tree, the young Airbender reached Momo in no time. When he reached the branch that kept the cage suspended, he worked to lower it. When it came close to the ground, Steve, Sokka, Natasha and Katara gently lowered it onto the ground. When the two Water Tribe siblings opened it up, the lemur jumped out of the cage and ran a few feet from the cage. He sat down and started to eat one of the lychee nuts that led to his capture. This causes both Sokka and Natasha to groan in irritation as the former facepalms. When Aang lands back on the ground the people of the group look up the still suspended hog monkeys. They were both hooting mournfully down at the humans.

"All right, you, too." Aang said as he jumped back up. Not wanting to do the same thing two more times, Sokka took out his boomerang and commented, "This is gonna take forever."

Both he and Steve took their respective weapons and flung them towards the cage. While Sokka's boomerang flew up high into the trees and came back to cut the cord to one of the cages, Steve's shield ricochets off the tree trunks and cuts through the other. Both baboons grunted as they fell right as Aang shimmed along the branch. He looked to see that they were gone and said, "That works."

The baboon's cages had opened on impact and both of them scurried into the forest. The boomerang and shield came back to the hands of their throwers as Aang came sliding down the trunk of a tree as Steve and Sokka inspected one of the baboon's cages. The other three stand behind them as they looked over the trap. Sokka could tell who made them and said, "These are Fire Nation traps. You can tell from the metalwork."

"Must have been used for hunting or some other purpose." Natasha surmised. Sokka became serious as he suggested, "We better pack up camp and get moving."

Twenty minutes later…

Sokka tightened one of the packs as they nearly finished. He looked over to see Katara handing a bundle to Aang. Thinking that that wasn't such a good idea, he quickly got up and said, "Uh-uh. No flying this time."

This surprised everyone as he took the pack away from Aang. This confused the Airbender even more as he asked, "What?! Why wouldn't we fly?"

"Think about it." Sokka said as he explained, "Somehow, Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa. He's just too noticeable."

"What?!" Katara questions in disbelief. Then she defended the bison, "Appa's not too noticeable."

"He's a gigantic, fluffy monster with an arrow on his head. It's kind of hard to miss him." Sokka accused with a finger. This causes Appa to growl in annoyance. Aang, having moved to the middle of the bison's head, said to Appa, "Sokka's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow."

"But in some ways he kind of is." Natasha said as she started to think about what Sokka said. Then she turned to the bison and said, "No offense, big guy."

"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk." Sokka said, worried about getting caught again. Katara had a hand on her hip as she asked, "Who made you the boss?"

"I'm not the boss," Sokka defended himself with a finger pointed to him, "I'm the leader."

Katara snickered as she questioned, "You're the leader? But your voice still cracks."

Sokka stared at her with wide eyes before saying in his cracked voice, "I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior!" He heard his voice and made it deeper, "So I'm the leader."

"If anyone's the leader, it's either Aang or Steve." Katara pointed out. Then she smiled as she said, "I mean, Aang is the Avatar and Steve's lead troops into battle."

"Are you kidding?" Sokka questions. He looks over to Aang and said, "He's just a goofy kid."

Aang basically proved this point by hanging upside down from Appa's right horn and said, "He's right."

"And I do think Steve would make an effective leader, but I think it should be me for now because I…," He stopped to think of something he had over Steve, though not to hurt his feelings. He came up with something and said, "have a better understanding of the map of our world."

Steve couldn't really argue with him there as Sokka picked up his pack. Katara wasn't as convinced as she said in disbelief, "Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" Then she was a little sassy as she smirked and said, "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."

"I've kissed a girl." Sokka defended himself. Though as he thought back to it, it didn't really count as him kissing Suki. But he didn't let them know it as he said, "You just haven't met her."

"Who, Gran Gran?" Katara asked with crossed arms. She had a smirk as she said, "I've met Gran Gran."

"No, besides Gran Gran." Sokka said as he threw up his arms. But he got back to the point by saying, "Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot.

"And a leader has to trust his instincts." Steve took a moment to consider what Sokka saying. He stepped forward and said, "I think we should go with Sokka's plan for now."

Everyone looks to him as he explained, "Look, I know Sokka doesn't seem like the leader type. But he's showing heart in what he believes in."

"See, Steve's on my side." Sokka smirked and wrapped an arm around the super soldier's shoulders.

Steve then turned to the teen and said, "And if he believes that we should walk for now, then I agree with him." Then looking to the others he suggested, "Besides, maybe after a while we can fly later. Sound fair?"

The other's reluctantly agreed to this. Katara, not entirely convinced, shrugged and said to her brother with a tease, "Okay, we'll try it way, O Wise Leader."

"Who knows?" Aang said as he walked up with a load of packs and Momo on his back. He thought it might be fun as he said, "Walking might be fun."

Two hours later…

After nearly spending a couple of hours walking in single file formation, one member of the group was starting to regret his words as Aang complained, "Walking stinks." Then he asked, "How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?"

"In all honesty, they can manage." Nat said from behind Katara. Each of them carried something on their backs, even Steve carried something on his back while his shield was on his arm. Katara, speaking to Aang, teasingly said, "Well, I don't know, Aang. Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts? They seem to know everything."

"Ha, ha, very funny." Sokka sarcastically remarked. Steve looked back and said, "Come on, you guys. It's not that bad."

But his encouraging words fell on deaf ears as Aang complained, "I'm tired of carrying this pack."

Katara had a sad look for him, but her face perked up as she sarcastically said, "You know who you should ask to carry it for awhile?" Both Aang and Sokka looked to her, even though the older brother didn't turn his head, as she said, "Sokka's instincts."

This caused Sokka to scowl as the Airbender said, "That's a great idea!" Not getting the sarcasm of what she said, he literally asked, "Hey, Sokka's instincts, would you mind…"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Sokka shouted, finding it annoying. Sokka looked back and said, "Look, guys, I'm tired, too." He tried to make a point as he walked through some bushes, "But the important thing is that we're safe from the… Fire… Nation."

It turns out that they had walked right onto a Fire Nation camp as the Fire Nation soldiers sat around by a fire eating. They all looked to the group as they looked for a fight. Thinking quickly, Sokka shouted, "Run!"

He and the others dropped their backs and were about to start running back the way they came. The Fire Nation soldiers got up from their seats and began to chase the group. The leader of the soldiers threw a fire ball that hit the bush behind them. Sokka, not knowing that he had something on him, looked to their escape route and said, "We're cut off!"

Aang was the first to notice it and pointed as he shouted, "Sokka, your shirt!"

When Sokka saw the left sleeve, he shrieked at the thought of getting burned. Acting quickly, Katara removed the cap from her waterskin and bent the water above her palm. Then with a small flick of her wrist, she made the water leap out on to her brother's shoulder and put doused the fire. When it was out, she bent the water back into the pouch. Soon, the kids and the Avengers were all surrounded by the Fire Nation soldiers. Steve quickly put on his helmet as all five took a fighting stance as Sokka stood protective and told the soldiers, "If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you."

This confused the group as Steve and Natasha looked at him. Even Katara was flummoxed as she quietly asked her sibling, "What are you doing?"

Sokka had a stoic look on his face before looking to his sister and whispered, "Bluffing."

" _You_ promise not to hurt _us_?" The leader asked, as if he was about to laugh at the statement. Then something whistled and hit the leader in the back. He fell down on his face with a groan. The group didn't know what to make of it as Aang asked, "Nice work, Sokka. How'd you do that?"

Sokka shrugged and just said the first thing that came to his mind, "Uh, instinct?"

"I'm not really sure it was him." Natasha gently said as she looked around. Katara was in agreement as she pointed, "Look!"

Standing in a tree stood a young man with brown hair, rebel looking clothes and two hook swords. Jumping backwards, the young man used the swords to grab onto the tree branch and swung himself at the Fire Nation soldiers. He landed on two of them and knocked them onto their faces with a dramatic pose. Then looking up, he held his hook swords out as he ran to other soldiers. He caught twos' ankles and lifted them up. The Fire Nation soldiers went up as the teen brought them down. Time seemed to slow down as they were launched and then speed up again as the two soldiers fell onto their downed leader. When the teen landed in a crouching pose, he smirked as he said with a piece of straw in his mouth, "Down you go."

The group's faces were mixtures of shock, awe and disbelief. The teen looked back to see a soldier coming at him to swing his sword down on him. But the teen caught his wrist with one of his blades and threw him down with a pull.

A soldier looked up and shouted, "They're in the trees!"

Just as he said that, a little boy fell onto his shoulders and turned his helmet around to blind him. The soldier grunted as he stumbled while the boy laughed as if it were a ride. Three other soldiers held their swords at the ready when a trio of arrows knocked their blades out of their hands. Both Nat and Cap looked hopeful to see if it was one of their friends, but their faces fell when they saw that it was just another young man as he sat on a tree limb. The teen placed two more arrows on his bow string before falling back slightly. He stayed in the tree as he hung upside down with only his legs to keep him from falling as he shot the swords out of two more soldier's hands. Another rebel looking teen dropped out of another tree and ducked as one soldier tried to run him through. Using his shoulders, the teen sent the soldier into the air and up into the tree as he dodged the sword stroke of another soldier. The teen grabbed the soldier's wrist and spun him around before letting him fall. A fourth teen fell from a tree with a knife held in a backwards position and then ran off into the fray.

The first teen looked to see Aang and Katara using their bending to fight back. Katara threw a glob of water while Aang used his airbending to drag a soldier across the ground. Then he turned to see Cap blocking a sword stroke with his shield while Natasha jumped onto a soldier and punched him in the face. As he fell, she somersaulted into the air and landed before sweep kicking another. Sokka gave a war cry as he held his boomerang and went to attack an incoming soldier. But the first teen beat him to it by using his hook swords to keep his balance as he did a drop kick. Sokka dropped his battle stance and said, "Hey, he was mine."

"Got to be quicker next time." The teen said with a smirk. Sokka had a scowl on his face as Katara smiled in admiration. Sokka walked off without another word.

Two Fire Nation soldiers stood at the ready as they backed away; one holding his blade with one hand and the other held the hilt of his sword with both hands. They both stopped as someone crashed behind them. They turned to see a big fellow with a log on his back. They seemed startled for a moment before preparing themselves to fight. The teen only smiled as he removed the log from behind his back and held it with both hands. Then bringing it above his heads, the big teen brought the log crashing down. The first teen looked back when he heard a thud and clang. The soldiers who tried to tangle with the large teen backed away in fear with their swords twisted. The two soldiers discarded their ruined weapons and ran off into the woods.

The first teen spun his blades through the air and caught them with the blades facing the sky with a smirk. But the smirk vanished when a soldier with a spear tried to run him through. The teen caught the spear's tip with the hooks of his blades and fought to keep it from going through his heart. Then with a spin, the teen brought the spear out of the soldier's arms and whacked him with it before it flew off. The butt of the spear flew through the air until it hit a soldier in the back of the head. Sokka, who was about to fight that soldier, looked over to the first teen and looked to the sky and said in irritation, "Man!"

The teen smirked until he looked behind him and saw another soldier with a spear coming at him again. The teen caught the spear head between the hilt and the guard on one blade. He let the spear go through before allowing the soldier to move behind him. The two faced each other with the teen holding his blades at the ready and the soldier twirled his staff. When the soldier lunged with his spear, the teen grabbed the end with his hooks and broke the spear as he literally ran over the soldier's head. The Fire Nation soldier fell to the ground as the teen stumbled towards Katara. Luckily for both of them, he stopped and stood up straight. Then he looked down at her and said, "Hey."

"Hi." She said back, clearly starting to feel enamored by him. They both turned to see that they had won the fight as the Fire Nation soldiers ran off into the woods. Steve, Natasha, Sokka and Aang joined the two as Aang said in awe, "You just took out a whole army almost single-handed."

"Army?! Pffft!" Sokka shrugged off, "There were only, like, twenty guys."

"Though that still is quite impressive." Steve commended as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. The kid looked up to him and said, "Thank you, sir."

Then the teen walked towards the rest of his group and turned to introduce them to Aang's group. He started with himself, "My name is Jet," He motioned with his head to the others, "and these are my Freedom Fighters: Sneers," The teen started eating out of one of the bowls, "Longshot," the archer looked towards his leader, "Smellerbee," the teen held three blades; one in the mouth and slashed the other two across. Then toward the last two, "the Duke and Pipsqueak."

"Pipsqueak-" Aang said as he walked over to the duo. He looked down at the smaller kid and said with his hands on his hips, "that's a funny name."

The smaller kid sniffed some snot back in as the larger fellow, obviously Pipsqueak, leaned towards Aang and seriously questioned, "You think my name is funny?"

Aang, a little intimidated, leaned back before a smile grew on his face and he said, "It's hilarious."

Pipsqueak tried to keep a serious face, but soon he broke out with a hearty laugh. Both Aang and the Duke started to laugh with him. Then in a friendly manner, Pipsqueak applied too much force as he patted Aang on the back. It caused the Airbender to fall on his face, making the Duke stop laughing as he looked down at Aang. But all was well as Aang looked up and started laughing again, making the Duke smile.

Most of the Freedom Fighters either looked about the Fire Nation camp or did their own thing. Sneer looked in a crate and pulled out a smaller back. Longshot used a knife to work with something on his bow. Sokka watched as Smellerbee walked around with some wood in her arms. His face turned to a scowl as she walked by.

Katara, with her hands behind her back, and the two Avengers walked over to Jet as he leaned against a tree and said, "Um, thanks for saving us, Jet. We're lucky you were there."

"I should be thanking you." Jet admitted. He then explained, "We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning." He removed the straw from his mouth as he said, "We just needed the right distraction, and then you guys stumbled in."

"Glad we could be of some help." Natasha said with a smirk as Steve removed his helmet. Katara, however, gave an annoyed stare to her sibling as she said, "We were relying on instincts."

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet warned. Steve looked back to see Sokka scowling at what Jet said and walked off. Steve then turned to Jet and said, "Well, sometimes instincts can be all that you've got."

Jet didn't say anything as he looked at the super soldier.

The Duke and Pipsqueak were inspecting a barrel of something. The Duke reached his hand inside the barrel and brought it back out with something brown on his finger. He inspected it by sniffing and then told his leader, "Hey, Jet, these barrels are filled with blasting jelly."

"That's a great score." Jet said with a smirking Katara standing next to him. Pipsqueak then picked up a box and showed it to Jet, "And these boxes are filled with jelly candy."

"Also good." Jet replied. Then he warned, 'Let's not get those mixed up."

"Yeah, no sense in eating something will give you a bad belly ache and loading explosives with something that won't go pop." Natasha added. This causes Jet to chuckle at her sense of humor.

"We'll take this stuff back to the hideout." The Duke said as Sneer and Pipsqueak started to load a wagon. This excited Aang as he walked over with Momo on his shoulder and looked to Jet and asked, "You guys have a hideout?"

"You want to see it?" Jet, with the straw in his mouth again, asked. Katara beamed as she moved closer to Jet and quickly answered with clasped hands, "Yes, we want to see it."

Jet smiled at her enthusiasm over this.

x

After a while of walking, the two groups came to a part of the woods. They all stopped when Jet looked up and said, "We're here."

"Where?" Sokka questioned as he looked around, "There's nothing here."

"Kind of the point of a hideout, Sokka." Nat pointed out to him. Jet then took a rope with a loop and told the Water Tribe warrior, "Hold this."

Taking the rope, Sokka was a little skeptic as he asked, "Why? What's this do?"

Jet closed he waited for what was to come. Sokka got his answer as he shrieked while being pulled up into the tree by his wrist. He got stuck among the branches for a moment before disappearing into the leaves. Jet took another rope and held it to the monk and asked, "Aang?"

Aang politely declined by saying, "Thanks, but I'll get up on my own."

Momo jumped off of Aang's shoulder and flew up into the trees as Aang followed by using his airbending as he jumped. Everyone on the ground watched as Aang jumped using the tree limbs. Jet held the rope while holding out his other hand outstretched. Then being charming he said, "Grab hold of me, Katara."

When she placed her hand into his, he twirled her closer to him. Katara blushed as she stood close to him. Then the two were slowly lifted up into the air. Still blushing, Katara couldn't take her eyes off of Jet before looking up into the trees. Jet looked up as the hideout emerged into view. When the two reached the platform, they stepped back as the rope lowered back down. When it came back up, Steve was holding on to Nat as they were pulled up. When they reached the platform, they stood with Katara and Jet as they watched Aang zip down on a zip line with Momo hanging on the top and shout, "Nice place you got!"

Jet lead Katara, Steve and Natasha across the platform to a rope bridge that connected it to the rest of the hideout. All three of them looked about the place as they saw that the housing was made out of tents that were scattered about the tree limbs. Standing at the edge of the platform, Katara told Jet, "It's beautiful up here."

"I will admit, this is a pretty nice view." Natasha said as she looked about the hideout. Jet agreed to it too as he said, "It's beautiful, and more importantly, the Fire Nation can't find us."

"They would love to find _you_ ," Smellerbee said with a smirk as she zipped down to their platform, "wouldn't they, Jet?"

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee." Jet said, completely confident in their ability to hide. Steve stepped forward and said, "It might seem that way now, Jet. But you can't expect to always keep it a secret."

He looked to the three and said to Katara, "If I had to guess, I'd have to say that your from one of the Water Tribes." But when he turned to Steve and Natasha, he asked, "But what's your story, if I may ask?"

Steve and Natasha looked to each other before he nodded and they began their story. Natasha said, "Believe it or not, me and Steve here," She pointed between the two of them, "and a few of our other friends came here by extraordinary means."

"What kind of means are those, exactly?" Smellerbee asked from behind. Steve didn't beat around the bush and said, "We came to your world through a portal that had been created by an enemy of ours."

"What were they trying to do with it exactly? And where are these friends of yours?" Jet asked. Steve and Nat looked to each other before saying, "On both questions, we don't really know. All we do know, is that our enemy must be planning for something big in your world. And we'll find our friends."

"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Katara asked, going back to the other subject as they walked across the bridge. Jet smirked as he explained what he was doing to the Fire Nation, "I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

Pipsqueak took pride in their work as he said, "We've been ambushing their troops, cutting off their supply lines and doing anything we can to mess with them."

"Kind of sounds like something Tony or Thor would do." Nat muttered to Steve. He couldn't help but chuckle at this. Sokka had caught up to them and was trying to look over Pipsqueak's shoulder. Jet then turned to them and said, "One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation from out of here for good, and free that town."

"That's so brave." Katara commended. Sokka maneuvered around those in back and sarcastically commented, "Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a tree house."

"Don't pay any attention to my brother." Katara said to shrug him off. Jet didn't mind it as he said, "No problem. He probably had a rough day."

"Yeah, I'd be upset too if I wasn't able to do much in a battle with my enemies." Nat said. Sokka just gave the three of them odd looks before he fell behind. Katara then decided to ask a personal question, "So, you all live here?"

"That's right." Jet said as he looked amongst his friends as they hung their heads, and told a little about their pasts, "Longshot over there? His town got burned down by the Fire Nation." Then he looked down to their smallest member and said, "And we found the Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home."

"What about you?" Katara asked, now feeling sorrow for the Freedom Fighter's tragic pasts. Jet, Katara and Steve stopped in the middle of the bridge as everyone passed them. He sounded heartbroken yet strong as he said, "Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old." He looked a little depressed as he remembered, "That day changed me forever."

Katara knew how he felt as she told him, "Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation."

"I'm so sorry, Katara." Jet said when he turned to her. He looked to Steve and said, "I don't mean to get personal when I say this but, you look like you've lost some good people, too."

"I did." Steve said as he remembered Bucky and all those when they fought in the war with him. The super soldier looked at the leader of the Freedom Fighters and said, "You might not believe this either, but I fought in my own war in my world. And time passed me by as I was frozen in ice."

This surprised Jet and he asked, "You, were frozen in ice. How? And for how long?"

"Let's just say that something in me kept me alive. And they say about for nearly seventy years." Steve answered. This really surprised Jet, but became confused as Steve chuckled to himself. Then the rebel teen asked, "What's so funny?"

"It's just that, while I'm a lot older than I look, I have a friend whose actually a few thousand years old." Steve said as he made a reference to Thor. Jet gave a smile as he shook his head. Then he jokingly said, "You sure do have some weird friends there, Steve."

Steve chuckled as the three of them stood on the rope bridge.

x

The sun had set over the forest as Appa stuck his head from the top branches growling. He had caused a few birds to fly and caw in fear from him.

Lanterns had been lit as the Freedom Fighters sat about, taking a load off. At the main table, Aang's group had joined the Freedom Fighters for supper. Jet stood up and retold of the battle earlier, "Today we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine."

When he raised his cup into the air, all the Freedom Fighters cheered for this. Four out of five from Aang's group smiled as he made his speech. The odd man out just sat there and sulked. Jet smirked as he spoke of their smallest rebel and said, "I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face hen the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey."

The Duke pride in this by standing up with a smirk, and walking on the table. Mostly everyone cheered and applauded the Duke as he waked around a plate of fish with his fists raised. Jet then stepped onto the table and continued his speech, "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." He raised his cup as he said, "Maybe they're right."

This caused the other Freedom Fighters to boo at his words. But then Jet said, "Or maybe…" His face turned darkly serious as he said, "they are _dead_ wrong."

His words caused the children to start cheering again. This caused Natasha to look at Jet with a new feeling. She began to worry about his demeanor when he spoke of the Fire Nation. But she didn't say anything as Jet moved between Sokka and Katara. The latter then complimented, "Hey, Jet. Nice speech."

"Thanks." Jet said as he sat down. Then pointing out four out of the five as he commended, "By the way, I was really impressed with you, Aang, Steve and Nat. That was some great fighting and bending I saw out there today."

"Well, he's great." Katara admitted about Aang, "He's the Avatar. I could use some more training." Then to the two Avengers she said, "And they both have experience from where they're from. Natasha's a spy and Steve's a super soldier."

"Super soldier?" Jet asked, not fully understanding. Katara then explained, "He was given his powers by a means of science." She had a questionable look about how she could explain it, but Steve placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's okay, we don't have to go into details."

"Avatar, huh?" Jet said, going back to Aang. Sokka still had a scowl on his face as Jet pointed and said, "Very nice."

"Thanks, Jet." Aang said, feeling appreciated. Jet then suggested, "So, I might know a way that Katara and Aang can help in our struggle."

"Unfortunately, we have to leave tonight." Sokka said a little rudely as he stood up. Steve and the other's were a little surprised at this as he asked, "Since when do you speak for us."

"Since we've made the fact that we're on a tight schedule." Sokka reminded as he started to walk off. Jet sounded distressed as he said, "Sokka, you're kidding me. I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."

When Sokka didn't say anything, Nat stood up from her spot and walked over to him. She leaned close to him and whispered, "Just go on this mission."

"What?" Sokka questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Why?"

"Mostly for recon." She motioned with her head towards Jet as she said, "Something about what Jet said earlier, and now needing both Aang and Katara… It's just sitting right with me. And don't worry about anything, I'll find a way to join too."

"Okay." Sokka said. He looked back to Jet and said, "What mission?"

x

The next morning, Sokka, Natasha and the Freedom Fighters were positioned in the trees a few miles from the hideout. Sokka, Natasha and Jet all stood in one of the trees. Natasha looked to Jet and said, "Thank you for letting me come along on this mission, Jet."

"It's not like you really gave me a choice when he you threatened to twist Sneer's arm off." Jet lightly reminded with a chuckle. Natasha chuckled back as she crouched down.

Jet placed his hands in front of his mouth and made a birdcall. Smellerbee and Pipsqueak emerged from their hiding spots and the former responded a reply. Sokka stuck his knife into the trunk of their tree and pressed his ear against it. Both Natasha and Jet looked to him as the latter asks, "What are you doing?"

"Shh." Sokka said as he tried to listen. But then he quickly explained, "It amplifies vibrations."

"Good trick." Jet said as he turned to keep an eye on the road. Sokka didn't hear anything as he listened and reported, "Nothing yet." But then he got something and said, "Wait. Yes. Someone's approaching."

"How many?" Jet asks. Sokka listened felt the vibrations and said, "I think there's just one."

Jet quickly acted and told the other's via birdcall. He turned to Sokka and Natasha and commended the former, "Good work, Sokka. Ready yourselves."

Sokka ripped his weapon out of the trunk and he and Natasha readied themselves. But their looks for fighting softened when they saw something different. An old man in Fire Nation garb walked on a stick through the woods. Sokka tried to make them abort by quietly shouting, "Wait, false alarm. He's just an old man."

But it fell on deaf ears as Jet stood up with a smirk and had his weapons at the ready. Then the leader of the Freedom Fighters jumped down from the branch and in front of the old man, startling him. Sokka and Nat looked in shock and worried about what Jet would do. Jet then angrily questioned, "What are you doing in our woods, you leech?"

The old man with nothing but the clothes on his back, his cane, and a pair of orange glasses looked a bit frightened as he tried to explain, "Please, young fellow. I'm just a traveler."

But Jet's response to that was to walk up to the old man and slap his cane with his hook swords into the woods. The old man backed up as Jet pointed his hook sword at him. The old man tried to run away, but the untimely arrival of Pipsqueak hindered him as the elderly man bumped into him. The old man's glasses fell off as he did. He whimpered in fear as he looked up at the towering Pipsqueak. The old man tried to crawl away, but Pipsqueak stopped him by holding him down with a foot. Jet stepped up and angrily questioned, "Do you like destroying towns?" He leaned down and asked, "Do you like destroying families? Do you?"

The old man tried to beg for mercy, "Oh, please, let me go. Have mercy."

"Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation give mercy?" Jet angrily questioned. Jet then readied his foot as he intended to kick the old man. But thankfully Sokka stopped him with his club before he could. Sokka tried to talk some sense in the rebel teen, "Jet, he's just an old man."

"Who happens to have an interesting choice of glasses." Natasha added as the picked up the spectacles. While Jet removed his foot from the club, she moved past both Sokka and Jet towards the old man. She pushed Pipsqueak off of the old man and bent down to place the old man's glasses. Jet wasn't convinced as he turned to Sokka and stated, "He's Fire Nation. Search him."

"But he's not hurting anyone." Sokka argued in the man's defense as Smellerbee and Pipsqueak shoved Nat out of the way and pulled the old man onto his feet. They began to search him as Jet questioned Sokka, "Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight."

"Taking things from an old man doesn't feel like fighting to me." Nat commented as she could only watch the scene unfold. Smellerbee took the man's bag and informed her leader, "We got his stuff, Jet."

"This doesn't feel right." Sokka said to Jet. Nat came up beside her friend and said, "It isn't right, Sokka. But I doubt Jet here cares."

"She's right." Jet said, "It's what has to be done.

"Now let's get out of here." Then he pushed right past both the Water Tribe warrior and Avenger. Sokka and Nat watch as all three Freedom Fighters walk away into the woods with glares. But then they both looked down to the old man as he sat on his knees and looked up to them. But they couldn't do anything as Jet shouted, "Come on, you two."

Both Sokka and Nat reluctantly backed away before running after the Freedom Fighters.

x

Later back at the hideout, Aang laughed as he spun around on the zipline. When he reached the platform where Sokka sat and Nat leaned against the trunk both in deep thought, he jumped off and said, "Sokka, Natasha, look what the Duke gave me."

He reached down into the Water Tribe bag and pulled out a small pellet. A sly grin formed on his face as he looked down at Momo. Then with a small fling, it hit the ground with a small bang. Momo shrieked in fear from it before looking aggressively angry. The lemur then jumped onto the satchel and dug into it. Then angrily chattering, the lemur climbed up to the boys shoulder and tortured him by throwing the pellets at his feet. Aang didn't find it funny as he shouted, "Ouch. Quit it."

The Air Nomad looked as if he were doing a funny dance as the lemur kept it up. Katara climbed down from the ladder to the platform with Steve coming down after her. She had her hands behind her back as she looked to her brother, and friend and asked, "Hey, Sokka, Natasha, is Jet back?"

"Yeah, he's back," Sokka said before looking at the two. Then he said, "but we're leaving."

This surprised both the Water and Airbender as Aang questioned, "What?!"

"I'm guessing that something went wrong on the mission." Steve said. Katara was disappointed as she said, "But I made him this hat."

"No offense, Katara, but your work could use more work." Nat said with her arms crossed. This earned her a glare from Katara. Then she added, "Plus, he doesn't really deserve something from a nice person like you."

This confused Katara as she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug." Sokka said with a glare. This shocked Katara in disbelief as she questioned, "What?!" Then she defended him, "No, he's not."

"He kind of is." Natasha argued. Sokka was with her as he said, "He's messed up, Katara."

"He's not messed up." Aang said. Then he tried to point out, "He's just got a different way of life-" He added his own touch, "a really fun way of life."

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!" Sokka exclaimed. Steve looked to Natasha and asked, "Is it true?"

"Saw it with my own eyes." Natasha answered. Katara wasn't entirely convinced as she crossed her arms and said, "I want to hear Jet's side of the story."

Ten minutes later…

They had went to Jet's tent and talked with him. He had his eyes closed as he said, "Sokka, Natasha, you told them what happened, but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?"

"No," Katara looked past Aang, who now wore the hat, and Steve as she looked to the two as they leaned against the wall, "they conveniently left that part out."

"Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation," Sokka argued as he walked over, "he was a harmless civilian."

"He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet said as he revealed a knife. He stuck the blade in the stump of a log. Then unscrewing the ring on the hilt he said, "See?" He then pulled it out, 'There's a compartment for poison in the knife."

Both Sokka and Natasha didn't believe what he was saying as he said, "He was sent to eliminate me." He looked up to the two and said, "You both helped save my life."

"I knew there was an explanation." Katara said, feeling relieved. Sokka and Natasha didn't buy into it as the former said, "I didn't see any knife."

This earned a skeptical look from Katara. Nat stood by Sokka as she said, "And if the old man really had that knife, I think he would have used it when he found that he was surrounded. And no offense to him, but I think that was a little old to be an assassin."

"That's because he was concealing it. Not to mention he could've been acting about being harmless. But then how can I trust the words of a spy." Jet argued when he looked at Nat. Katara was on Jet's side as she told her brother, "See, you guys, I'm sure neither of you just didn't notice the knife."

"There was no knife." Sokka argued in his sister's face. Deciding enough was enough, Sokka said, "I'm going back to the hut and packing my things."

As he walked out, Nat looked to Jet while talking to the departing Water Tribe teen, "I'm right behind you, Sokka."

Then both teen and spy exited the hut. When they left Jet looked to the remaining three and sounded desperate when said, "Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet. I really need your help."

"What can we do?" Aang asked, wanting to help. Jet had a serious look on his face as he said, "The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest." Then he said in reference to their skills, "If you both use waterbending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires," He then sounded distraught should they choose to go, "but if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley."

Both Aang and Katara looked to each other, feeling conflicted on what they should do. They looked to Steve and he said, "It's mostly up to what you want to do. But you might want to talk to Nat and Sokka first."

Ten minutes later…

A Freedom Fighter zipped down a line as Steve, Aang with Momo on his shoulder, and Katara walked towards the hut. Katara moved past both boys as she went inside. Both Sokka and Natasha were tying up a bundle as they intended to leave. She decided to stay as she told both her brother and friend, "We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest."

"I'm sorry, Katara." Sokka said as he stood and turned to them. He was very dead set on leaving as he expressed his feelings with a swipe of his arm, "Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him."

"You know what I think?" Katara accused with her arms crossed, "You're jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader."

"Now, come on Katara. You know that was a little harsh." Steve said and moved in front of her. Sokka defended himself by saying, "Katara, I'm not jealous of Jet. It's just that my instincts…"

"Well, _my_ instincts tell me need to stay here a little longer and help Jet." Katara argued. She then began to walk out of the hut and told the Air Nomad, "Come on, Aang."

"Sorry, Sokka. Sorry, Natasha." Aang said as they both left. Both Benders left the three alone in the hut. Steve stayed behind and looked to his fellow Avenger. He noticed that she was thinking and asked, "I can tell that your thinking really hard about something. What is it?"

She turned to her friend and asked, "What exactly did Jet say about this forest fire plan?"

"All he really said was that the Fire Nation had planned to burn down the forest." Steve told them. Then Nat said, "I have an odd feeling that there's more to what Jet wants than he's letting on."

"You might be right." Steve said as he looked to Sokka as he watched the flap.

x

Later that night, Appa grunted quietly as he slept at the top of the trees. While Aang, Katara and Steve slept on the ground, Sokka and Nat slept against the tree trunk. That was until Sokka heard Jet's voice, "Let's go."

"Huh?" Sokka said confused as he opened his eyes. He moved to the flap a little and saw a couple of Freedom Fighters lower themselves to the ground. He glared as he watched them go. Nat moved behind him and said, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sokka nodded and then the two quietly ran out of the hut. They ran to a branch that had its own rope. When Sokka jumped to grab a hold of it, Nat jumped and wrapped her arms around him. They were both lowered to another branch. When they landed, both Nat and Sokka stayed low as they watched as Jet led a few Freedom Fighters as they loaded the wagon with barrels. Both of them watched as the group moved out. Then ducking behind the tree they made their way to the ground. Sticking to the brush and cover, they followed the Freedom Fighters through the woods.

It was close to dawn as the Freedom Fighters soon came to a stop on a ridge that over looked the town, a nearby river and dam. Jet walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over the dam. Then he turned and instructed, 'Now listen. You are not to blow the dam until I give the signal." He feared the worst of the plan, "If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."

"But what about the people in the town?" The Duke asked as he jumped off the wagon. He sounded concerned as he asked, "Won't they get wiped out, too?"

Jet walked up to their smallest member and placed a hand on his shoulder as said, "Look, Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation." Then he told his archer, "Now, don't blow the dam until I give the signal, got it?"

Longshot nodded in confirmation. Sokka and Natasha looked in shock to Jet's plan. But before they could go warn the other's or do anything, they heard a noise from behind. Then Sokka felt pain as someone grabbed his warrior's wolf tail. He yelled in pain as Pipsqueak held him by it. Then Smellerbee came in with the knife held it close to his neck and questioned with a grim look, "Where do you think you're going, ponytail?"

Natasha was about to jump in and help when two other Freedom Fighters jumped her from behind and held her hands behind her back. Then she smirked and said, "Something tells me you don't know how to handle a spy."

"Huh?" The two Freedom Fighters asked before she used her flexibility to high kick them in the face. This caused them to release her as they fell to the ground. When she ran to help Sokka, she saw that Smellerbee held the blade really close to Sokka's throat and asked, "How do you want this to play out?"

With a sigh, Natasha held her hands up in defeat. The two Freedom Fighters then came up and took her arms again. Then the four Freedom Fighters dragged both Sokka and Natasha out of the bushes.

The sun soon rose as they were both brought before Jet. The teen didn't sound too happy or upset as he said, "Sokka, Natasha, I'm glad the two of you decided to join us."

Both spy and Water Tribe warrior were pushed to the ground. Sokka held his shoulder as he looked up to Jet and said, "We heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town."

Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation." Jet said as they both stood up. Sokka then tried to reason with him, "There are people living there, Jet: Mothers and fathers and children."

"How can you call yourself a Freedom Fighter if don't keep the freedom for all?" Natasha asked. Jet didn't seem swayed as he said, "We can't win without making some sacrifices."

"You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire." Sokka accused with a finger. Nat stepped forward and said, "I should have known you were up to no good when we met you. I just didn't get the feeling until the other night."

"That's because they don't understand the demands of war." Jet said. He smirked as he said, "Not like you both and I do."

"I do understand." Sokka admitted, "I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

"And what you're wanting goes too far." Nat said with a glare. Jet looked disappointed as he said, "I was hoping you both would have an open mind, but I can see you've both made your choice."

Sokka and Nat looked back to see Smellerbee, Pipsqueak and the other two Freedom Fighters move to grab them. When they tried to fight, Jet caught one of their wrists with his hook swords. They were grabbed as Jet lightly pulled swords down and said, "I can't let you warn Katara, Aang and Steve." Then he ordered his friends, "Take them for a walk. A long walk."

"You can't do this." Sokka exclaimed. Jet remained set as he said, "Cheer up, Sokka." He smirked when he added, "We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."

"It's not a victory when the hero becomes a murderer." Scarlet warned as they were dragged away.

x

Later that day, a few miles from the dam. Jet led Aang, Katara and Steve to a small brook. Katara felt guilty for her brother and friend's actions and said, "Jet, I'm sorry about how Sokka and Nat's been acting."

 _Even though they may have more reason to be_ , Steve though. Jet seemed cool as he said, "No worries. They already apologized."

This surprised the group as Aang asked, "Really? Sokka apologized?"

"That is quite strange for him." Steve said. Then he added, "And Natasha wouldn't really apologize unless she was truly sorry, but she seemed dead-set about what she seen."

"Yeah. I was surprised, too." Jet said and stopped. He turned to them and guessed, "I got the sense that maybe you talked to them or something."

"Yeah, I did." Katara said, knowing what he meant. Jet then thought about it and said, "I guess something you said got through to them." Then he told them were the two were, "Anyhow, they went out on a scouting mission with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee."

Katara smiled to think that things were getting better and said, "I'm glad they cooled off. Sokka can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Nat sometimes too." Steve halfway added. Aang started to feel a breeze coming from the ground and screamed when a steam vent shot him in the air. Katara and Steve looked up to Aang in the air as Jet came back and said, "All right, we're here." He explained what the area was and what they were doing as Aang landed, "Underground water is trying to escape from these vents. I need you guys to help it along."

Katara wasn't so sure as she said, "I've never used bending on water I can't see. I don't know…"

Jet came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders as he used his smooth talk to assure her, "Katara, you can do this."

"What about me and Steve?" Aang asked with a bland look about the two of them. Jet didn't sound too worried as he said, "I know the Avatar can do this." He turned to Steve and said, "And who better to watch our backs than Captain America."

Soon both Aang and Katara stood over a geyser and lifted their arms up and down. They took deep breaths as they lifted the water out. Soon the water came up and moved up and down as they continued. When it reached the top of their heads, Aang and Katara threw the water out of the steam vent and into the river.

Jet sounded really happy as he shouted, "Yes! Good job. This river empties into the reservoir. A few more geysers and it'll be full."

Aang turned and shouted as he pointed, "Look. There's another steam vent."

Both he and Katara made their way over to it. Jet then decided it was time to go and said, "Okay, you two keep it up. I'll go check on things at the reservoir."

He turned to leave, but stopped when Katara said, "When we're done, we're done, we'll meet you over there."

"Actually," Jet said, trying to think of something to keep them away. He then said, "probably better if you meet me back at the hideout when you're done."

Both Aang and Katara nodded as he began to walk away. But before he could leave the river, Steve stood in his way and asked, "What's happening at the reservoir that you don't want them to see?"

"It's nothing major." Jet quickly said staying cool under pressure. Then he came up with the excuse, "I'm just doing a routine check on things. It won't take long, so it would be pointless to go there."

"If you say so." Steve said as he walked past Jet. As he reached his friends, Jet kept on walking away. Aang and Katara had just raised the second stream of steam vent water and threw it at the river.

When he reached the tree line, he wiped his brow and said to himself, "These Avengers are too smart for their own good sometimes."

An hour later…

Aang and Katara brought up another geyser of water and threw it into the river. As they admired their work, Aang then suggested, "I bet that's enough." The two Waterbenders had raised seven geyser's in total and the river had risen quite a bit, "And I'm not just saying that to be lazy."

"Let's catch up with Jet at the reservoir." Katara said. This confused Aang as he reminded, "I thought we agreed to meet Jet back at the hideout."

"I'm actually wanting to see what's going on at the reservoir." Steve said with his arms crossed. Katara was somewhat in agreement as she said, "Plus, we finished early." She had a smile at the thought of surprising Jet, "I'm sure he'll be happy to see us."

x

Somewhere else in the forest, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee led the bound Sokka and Natasha along a path. Smellerbee pushed Sokka forward and ordered, "Come on! Move along!"

"How can you just stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" Sokka questioned. Nat then added, "And how can you justify in killing innocent lives?"

"Hey, listen, you two." Pipsqueak said in Jet's defense, "Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and thins always turn out okay."

"And when they don't?" Natasha asks with a raised eyebrow as she found that her bindings were loose. Sokka then looked to his left and saw a familiar sight. Two Fire Nation traps like the ones Momo got caught in. He cleared his voice to get Nat's attention. When she looked to him he did a small motion with his head toward the traps. She soon realized what he planned and said, "Well…"

"If that's how Jet leads," Sokka added. Then they both said, "then he's got a lot to learn." And then both took off towards the traps.

"Hey!" Smellerbee shouted and missed a grab on them. Sokka and Natasha made sure to step carefully as they ran over the traps and then jumped over a root. But when Smellerbee and Pipsqueak set foot on the spread out traps, the cages surrounded them and hoisted in the air.

Sokka and Natasha then slipped their bindings off their wrists. As she rubbed them from the rope, Sokka smirked as he told the two captive Freedom Fighters, "While you two are up there, you might want to practice your knotwork."

"It is kind of embarrassing." Nat said before the two ran off.

"Hey, Smellerbee," Pipsqueak said as he cage rotated until it stopped. Then while holding his pile, he asked, "you going to eat your lychee nuts?"

She threw one in response. He 'oohed' from the new treat. He picked the nut with a hungry smile.

x

Soon Aang, Katara and Steve came to the rise that overlooked the town and the dam. They looked to the base of the dam and noticed some of the Freedom Fighters unloading something from a wagon. This confused Katara as she asked, "What are they doing?"

Aang took a closer look and recognized what they had, "Hey, those are the red barrels they got from the Fire Nation."

"Why would they need blasting jelly?" Katara wondered. Steve inhaled sharply as Aang realized it too, "Because Jet's going to blow up the dam."

"I should have known something like this could happen." Steve said as he thought about. Katara, not wanting to believe it, said, "What?! No." She looked to her friends and pointed out, "That would destroy the town." She wanted to believe the opposite as she said, "Jet wouldn't do that."

Knowing that much was on the line, Aang opened his glider and said, "I've got to stop him."

As the Airbender prepared to take off, Katara repeated, "Jet wouldn't do that."

Aang tried to take flight, but yelled when Jet swiped his glider away. Before he could fall, Aang quickly used a burst of air to steady himself as he touched back down on the ledge. All three of them looked to the crouching Jet as he admitted, "Yes, I would."

"Jet, why?" Katara questioned, not believing that someone like Jet would do such an atrocious act. Jet tried to make her think that she would do the same by saying, "Katara, you would, too, if you just stop to think." He brought up the memory, "Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother." He sounded like he knew what was right as he said, "We can't let them do that to anyone else ever again."

"This isn't the answer." Katara said, trying to reason with him. But Steve knew better as he slipped his helmet on and said, "He won't listen, Katara. He's acting on anger, and making himself self-righteous by thinking that this is for the greater good."

"I want you to understand me, Katara." Jet said, looking hurt by how she's acting. He then moved towards her and said, "I thought your brother and friend would understand, but…"

"Where are Sokka and Natasha?" Katara questioned as tears welled in her eyes. Jet placed a hand on the side of her head and said, "Katara…"

She closed her eyes, feeling betrayed and hurt by him. Then in a fit of anger she shoved the water from her satchel at him. Jet fell to the ground as Katara drew her water back into the satchel. Aang then made his way towards his staff as he said, "We need to get to the dam."

But just when Aang reached the staff, the hilt from one of Jet's hook swords stopped him as the Freedom Fighter leader said, "You're not going anywhere without your glider."

Jet placed the glider on his back as he used the joined blades to slash at Aang. Aang narrowly missed getting nicked as he jumped backwards. Cap came in and tried to punch at Jet. The Freedom Fighter ducked under the arm and tried to slash with the connected blades. Cap blocked the hilt and grabbed the hilt as it came back around. When he pulled the blades forward, Jet stumbled with it as Cap tried to punch him. But Jet acted quickly and ducked again with a roll. When he reached the other side he stood up and kicked Cap from behind. Cap stumbled and released the hilts to the swords. Aang tried to reach for the staff when Jet's back was turned, but Jet looked back and tried to swing at Aang again with his joined blades. But Aang used his airbending to backflip into the limb of a tree. He looked down to the older teen and stated, "I'm not gonna fight you, Jet."

"You'll have to if you want your glider back." Jet countered as he unhooked his blades. When he tried to run towards the tree, Cap came in again with a punch from his shield. But Jet quickly backed up before using the broad side of the shield to jump over the super soldier. When he was far enough away, Jet continued to run to the tree.

Cap turned to the tree and looked down at his shield. Thinking and moving fast, he removed it from his arm and prepared to throw it and shouted, "Aang! Quick, catch and defend!"

Then with a good throw Cap sent the shield up to Aang. Aang caught the shield with a jump in the air. Then with a turn and a leap, Aang jumped with the shield higher into the tree. Jet followed by using his hook swords to climb up.

The two jumped from branch to branch as Cap and Katara followed from the ground. Aang landed on a branch and began to run while placing the shield on his arm. Jet came sliding on an overhanging branch and tried to slash at Aang with his free blade only to be blocked by the vibranium shield. Both Aang and Jet, now landing on the branch, stood on opposite ends. Aang sent a broadsided air disk at him. Jet quickly jumped out of the way and used a joining branch to round the main branch and back on. The Freedom Fighter tried to use a flying kick on him, but with an enhancement of airbending, Aang pushed back with the shield. Though it only bounced him back a little, Jet came back in with upwards double slash. Aang was able to block one blade with airbending and the other with the shield. Then with a kick of air, he sent Jet flying to the trunk. Jet's back connected to the trunk and he crouched down as he readied himself. Standing up, Jet connected his hook swords again and used the long range to intimidate before getting close. Aang dodged the slash and used another air kick to blast Jet back. But Jet stuck the hooks into the branch to keep himself on. Then the Freedom Fighter tried to rush the Airbender. But Aang jumped to another branch as Jet slashed again. Jumping higher from branch to branch, the two climbed up in the tree. As Aang used the branch, Jet used the sharp edges on the hilts to climb. Both combatants jumped from one top of the tree to the next with grace.

As Aang started to go down, Jet came in with a swing but he maneuvered around the trunk. Jet tried to follow his movements as he went down, but saw an opportunity and jumped down. His hook swords grabbed onto Aang's shoulders and made him scream as he was pulled. As the two fell, Aang removed the blades before back flipping out of the way of a slash. They both landed on their feet on another branch and faced each other. With a twirl of his right blade Jet then swung both at him while Aang was able nimbly avoid each slash. When one seemed as if it would connect, Aang held the shield in front of him to protect him. But Jet used it as an opportunity and hooked his blades on the side of the shield. Then with a yank, he caused the shield to slide off of Aang's arm. Aang watched as the shield fell to the ground.

Steve watched as the shield fell down towards him and caught it before it could hit the ground. He looked up to Aang and silently said, "Good luck up there, Aang."

Speaking of said Air Nomad, he dodged slash after slash as he was pushed to the edge of the branch. When Jet tried to strike him with a jab of his hilts, they stuck into the tree as Aang climbed down and clung to the branch like a lemur. Jet looked down to see what he was doing, he then pulled out his blades and tried to rush Aang again. But as he came within striking distance, Aang summoned a stream of air to knock the rebel back. Jet struggled to hang on as the wind blew against him. The stream of wind wrapped around the tree as it pushed against the Freedom Fighter. He couldn't hang on any more and fell because of the wind's strength. As he fell, Jet grunted as he caught onto another bridge with his hook swords. But as he hung on the staff fell to the ground. Jet watched as it fell down to earth.

When he looked up to Aang, he saw that the Airbender had given chase after his staff. Then with a swing, Jet fell down after him. They quickly fell down the ground and Aang used airbending to slow himself from the fall. But as they came to a branch in the way, Jet used it to knock Aang off track. He screams as he flies into the branch of a tree.

From the ground, Steve winced when Aang smacked into it. Then he was horrified when Aang continued to fall. Aang landed near his staff and felt sore from smacking into the bark. Jet landed not too far as Aang started to pick himself up with a groan. But before Jet could do anything, the Freedom Fighter was hit in the back of the head with the shield. As the rebel stumbled, a blast of water knocked him away from both Airbender and super soldier.

Katara stood next to a creek and threw another barrage of water at Jet. Then with two more throws of water she knocks him further away. Then with a soft inhale of breath, she then released a mist of breath. Through another new found waterbending technique, she caused the puddle of water to freeze and thus caused the soaked Jet to freeze as well. The ice froze all the way up to his head making him groan in discomfort as the ice crackled. Steve moved over to Aang and helped him on his feet and handed him his staff while Katara questioned, "Why, Jet?" Her words were full of hurt as she accepted what can of person he was, "I can't believe I trusted you.

"You lied to me." She said before saying to his face, "You're sick, and I trusted you!"

But all three heroes were caught off guard as a bird call came over the distance. They looked towards the dam as the whistle echoed. Jet then gave a responding bird call. Katara was wide eyed as she questioned, "What are you doing?"

"You're too late." The trapped Jet told them. All three of them looked down at the town in fear as Katara said in despair, "No!"

Aang opened up his glider, but it was a little damaged from the fight. But the Airbender had to try anyway, so he took a running start and jumped into the air. But between the damaged glider and Aang's aching body from smacking into the tree branch he fell back onto the ground with a grunt. Katara and Steve ran to help him. As they came closer, Aang gave a little bit of hope as he said, "Sokka and Natasha are still out there. They're our only chance."

All three looked towards the scene and Katara said, hoping that they could make it, "Come on, Sokka, Natasha. I'm sorry I ever doubted the both of you." Then she pleaded, "Please."

On the other side of the river in front of the dam, Longshot stood on the branch of a tree and had an arrow ready to fire. His hand shakily pulled back on the bow string before releasing. The arrow flew high into the sky before falling towards the barrels of explosives. Katara watched it as the arrow fell and whispered in despair, "No."

Then flames grew on the barrels before the blasting jelly ignited, and resulted in a massive explosion. Katara, Aang and Steve all watched in horror as the water escaped from its confines of the former dam and rushed towards the town. The rushing water was merciless as it crashed into the town and a large portion rose above it like a tidal wave. The buildings had been smashed by the water and debris from the people's lives floated about on the water. Aang sadly said, "Sokka and Natasha didn't make it in time."

"I'm sorry, you guys." Steve said and placed a hand on both their shoulder's.

"All those people." Katara said, crushed and looked as if she were about to shed a tears. Then she turned to the one responsible and angrily shouted, "Jet, you monster!"

"This was a victory, Katara. Remember that." Jet said sounding satisfied. He thought that things would be better as he said, "The Fire Nation is gone, and this valley will be safe."

"It will be safe…" Sokka's voice said, surprising all of them. They all looked to see Sokka and Natasha riding Appa as Sokka said, "without you."

"Sokka! Nat!" Katara said, relieved to see them alright. Sokka then gave them some good news as Momo jumped into Aang's arms, "I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time."

"What?!" Jet disbelievingly questioned. Then Nat said, "Although it wasn't easy to convince them."

x

(Flashback begins)

 _Sokka and Natasha had gone into the town to warn the villagers of the impending danger._

"At first, they didn't believe me." _Sokka said as he re-counted about how he saved them. Both spy and Water Tribe teen were approached by soldiers as Sokka said, "_ The Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy."

"But luckily we had a little luck on our side." _Nat stated as Sokka then told them how he was able to convince the townsfolk, "_ But one man vouched for us- the old man you attacked. _"_

 _A soldier had placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder as the old man in the orange tinted glasses came through the crowd and told them to listen to them, "_ He urged them to trust us. _"_

 _Both Sokka and Natasha overlooked the evacuation as the townsfolk walk towards higher ground, "_ and we got everyone out in time. _"_

(End of flashback)

x

On the hillside outside of the town, the villagers and soldier stood out of the way when the flood came. One little girl broke away from the group to the river. She ran to the water's edge just as a doll drifted along. The little girl plucked the doll out of the water and happily exclaimed, "Mrs. Pretty!"

Then she gave the doll a big hug.

"Sokka, Natasha, you fools!" Jet exclaimed as Steve, Aang and Katara started to climb onto Appa. He thought of his 'victory' that had been lost, "We could have freed this valley!"

"Who would be free?" Sokka questioned as he narrowed his eyes at the Freedom Fighter. He said the outcome if Jet's plan had succeeded, "Everyone would be dead."

"And then there would be no true freedom at all." Natasha added. Jet angrily accused, "You traitors!"

"No, Jet," Sokka said as his expression softened, "you became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."

"Katara, please, help me." The trapped Jet pleaded as she was the last one to board Appa. The Waterbender still felt hurt from being used and simply hung her head with her eyes closed and saying, "Good-bye, Jet."

Then she boarded the bison without another word. When she was on board, Sokka snapped the reins and said the phrase, "Yip, yip."

Appa groaned as he took off. Jet watched them go as he remained trapped. Then he hung his head in defeat.

x

As Appa flew through the air, Aang was confused about something and asked the two heroes, "We thought you both were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?"

"Let me guess: Your instincts told you." Katara guessed about Sokka. Then Steve said to Nat, "And you decided to follow those instincts, huh?"

"Hey, sometimes this kid has his moments." Nat complimented with a light punch to the teen's shoulder. Sokka decided to milk it and said, "And hey, sometimes, they're right."

But the four of them who weren't driving looked to each other as Aang humor fully questioned, "Um, Sokka, you know we're going the wrong way, right?"

This surprised Sokka for a moment, causing the four to put on humored smiles. Then he decided to admit it and said as he twisted the reins, "And sometimes, they're wrong."

Then Appa groaned as he turned the right direction. They were soon back on their way to the North Pole.

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: And with that, we have reached the halfway mark of Book One. I hope that you enjoyed Stan Lee's big role in this chapter. I was hoping to have Book One done by the end of the year, but it doesn't seem to be the case. But oh well, am I right my friends. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	11. Chapter Eleven: The Great Divide

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. And here we are, on the last ten chapters of Book One in Avenging Avatar. In this episode, sides will be taken by both those of Aang's world and the Avengers. In this episode I'll be having Steve and Natasha fighting a little just to make them more a part of the episode. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Sokka and Katara sat on an ice berg after their canoe had been destroyed. Sokka then said, "Leave it to a girl to screw things up."_

 _Katara's face twitched in anger before she angrily shouted, "You are the most sexist, nut-brained," She threw her hands up as she irritated-ly said, "I'm embarrassed to be related to you."_

 _Sokka looked up and became shocked at how her anger affected her water bending as she shouted, "Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been playing soldier!" Then she made a point by saying, "Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant."_

 _As Aang, Katara and Steve walked about the abandoned Fire Nation ship, Aang told them, "I have friends all over the world."_

" _Um, Sokka," Aang said before humor fully asking, "you know we're going the wrong way, right?"_

 _It surprised Sokka before he admitted and pulled on the reins, "And sometimes, they're wrong."_

 _Then he turned Appa in the right direction towards the North Pole._

x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Eleven: The Great Divide**

The sun was starting to set over the horizon in a really rocky area. The group was starting to set up camp. It was proving to be a chore for a certain Water Tribe Teen as he and Natasha struggled to raise the tent. He grunted as one end came up, he accidentally fell onto Nat. She groaned, "Ow! Sokka!"

"Sorry, my bad." Sokka quickly apologized. Then they were able to raise both sides of the tent. Katara and Steve so happened to walk up with some firewood as the two crawled out. As they started to stand, Katara then asked, "Um, aren't you forgetting the tarp?"

"Right, got it." Sokka said with a smile and a remembering finger. Then picking up the rolled up tarp, Sokka threw it into the tent. Katara looked a little annoyed as she said, "Sokka, you're supposed to put the tarp on top of the tent." She looked up to the sky and said as if it would, "You know, so we don't get rained on."

"Ordinarily, you'd be right," Sokka said in agreement. But then brought up his own point, "but seeing how it's the dry season, you're not." Then he made another point, "Besides, that tarp makes a pretty warm blanket."

"And to be honest," Natasha added while he checked on of the stakes, "neither me or Sokka really want to put it up."

"But what if it does rain?" Katara questions, her irritation starting to grow. Steve felt a little annoyed himself as he said, "Come on, Nat. Don't tell me Sokka's making you wanting to take the easy way."

"And what if it doesn't? Then we would've put the tarp up for nothing." Sokka questioned back to Katara as he continued to check the tent. Nat stood by Sokka as she questioned the super soldier, "And who said anything about me or Sokka wanting to take the easy way out?"

Katara gave a frustrated growl as she stamped her foot. Then she told the both of them, "You're both infuriating!"

"Katara, Steve," Sokka, now becoming irritated as he looked to his sister and the super soldier, "why don't the both of you worry about gathering the firewood," he looked about what they had and commented, "because that kindling's looking pretty sorry."

Natasha looked at what they both had and commented, "Yeah, what happened? Couldn't find any decent sized firewood?"

"Hey, it's all that we could find before sundown." Steve defended. Katara couldn't hold her frustrating anger in any longer and shouted, "Well, if neither of you don't like our firewood…" Then she flung what she had at her brother.

But Sokka didn't take it lying down and shouted in anger, "Fine by me! If you're not going to do your job…" Then taking the string that kept the tent up, he pulled and let the protection against the elements fall.

"And is that really the best excuse that you could come up with, Mr. Second Strongest to the Hulk on Earth's Time?" Natasha countered as well.

Both sides of the group glare at each other when Aang comes up and said, "Okay, I got the grub, if you guys got the…" Then he looked at the scene before him and asked as Sokka and Katara turned away from each other with their arms crossed, "Hey, where's the campfire?" Then he looked at the dismantled tent, "And what happened to the tent?"

"Why don't you ask Miss Know-It-All, Queen of the Twigs and her super human associate." Sokka told him, not turning as the two Avengers crossed their arms and glared at each other.

"Oh, yeah?" Katara shot back as she turned to look at her brother, "Well, you're Mr. Lazy Bum, King of the…" Then picking up a stick she threw it at him as she said, "Tents and his spy of secrets."

Sokka groaned in pain and then turned to face his sister. Nat was quick to defend him by saying, "First of all, we're not lazy, we had just put in a lot of work on the tent. Secondly, it's not nice to throw things at someone who's done more work than you apparently."

"We both worked hard to find that firewood." Steve said again. Aang set his findings down and chuckled before trying to calm everyone down by saying, "Okay, listen, guys, harsh words won't solve problems, action will." Then he suggested, "Why don't you just switch jobs?"

All four of them seemed to calm down by it.

"Sounds good." Katara said. Sokka felt the same by saying with a rub to his sore head, "Whatever."

Steve and Natasha looked to each other and the former said, "I'm sorry about letting it escalate."

"Me too." She said back with a guilty look.

"You see that?" Aang asked smiling as the four got started. Aang felt proud as he described his job, "Settling feuds and making peace- all in a day's work for the Avatar."

The sound of Momo squealing and chattering makes his smile drop. He looks over to see the lemur trying to pull a melon out from Appa's grasp. But he struggled as the bison kept a firm grip with only one finger on it. The lemur gave a few good tugs on the melon before trying to push it. Then grabbing onto it with his back feet Momo tried to fly away with it, but proved to be futile. Then getting up, the Momo started to walk away in defeat. Appa grunted in content as he removed his finger and started to lick the melon off the ground, but Momo quickly ran back and grabbed the melon. He tried to run off with it, but a smirking Aang was quick to stand in the way and grab it out of his hands. Then holding the melon in one hand, he threw it up into the air and used an overhead air slice to cut the melon in half. The bigger piece fell towards Appa who licked it up in content. The smaller piece fell to Momo, who chittered in complaint up to Aang. Aang then told the lemur, "Come on, Momo, that's fair." Then he pointed out, "Appa's got five stomachs."

The lemur looked at the bison as Appa chewed his supper.

x

The next morning, the group had come to the cliffside of a gigantic canyon. Momo flew along the cliffside as Aang presented his friends, "There it is, guys, the Great Divide."

"I wonder if it dwarf's the Grand Canyon back home." Steve wondered. Natasha shrugged and said, "Maybe we'll just have to find out to see."

"Wow, I could just stare at it forever." Katara said as she admired the beauty of the canyon. But Sokka wasn't as thrilled about it as he said, "Okay, I've seen enough."

Katara gave her brother a deadpanned look before asking while he walked away, "How can you not be fascinated, Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world."

"Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away." Sokka said as he tugged on Appa's reins and then pointed a dramatic finger. But then suddenly a man in a white and yellow robe, carrying a pack on his back pushed past him. Sokka tried to keep himself upright as the man said, "Hey, if you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first."

"Canyon guide?" Steve questioned. Katara seemed impressed as she said, "Ooh, canyon guide- sounds informative."

Aang and the two Avengers joined her as the man said, "Believe me, he's more than a tour guide." Then he revealed as Sokka appeared behind him and started to mimic him as he talked, "He's an Earthbender and the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help." Then he confidently said, "And he's taking my tribe across next."

"Calm down." Sokka said with a calming motion of his hands. He sarcastically sympathized with the man as he walked away, "We know you're next."

But the man wasn't anything like that as he pointed a finger and said, "You wouldn't be calm if the Fire Nation destroyed your home and forced you to flee." Then turning toward the Great Divide he complained, "My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se."

"You're a refugee." Katara deduced. The man scoffed and arrogantly said, "Tell me something I don't know."

Aang, Katara, Steve and Natasha all glanced at each other before noticing something on a conjoining path. A huge group of people walked towards the canyon. Katara then asked, "Is that your tribe?"

The people coming up mostly wore animal skins for clothing. They also kept their hair a little bit untidy.

"It most certainly is not." The man said with a glare. He added spite when he told them, "That's the Zhang tribe. A bunch of low-life thieves." He gave the group a little history on them while glaring, "They've been the enemies of my tribe for a hundred years."

Then he whistled at the Zhangs and informed them, "Hey, Zhangs, I'm saving a spot for my tribe, so don't even think of stealing it."

But he flinched when the leader came up and questioned, "Where are the rest of the Gan Jin?" Then he guessed, "Still tidying up their campsite?"

"Yes," The man said while placing a finger in front of his enemy's face, "but they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot."

"The guy with a sword on his back looks as if he wants to snap Mr. Arrogant's finger off." Natasha mumbled to Sokka.

"I didn't know the canyon guide took reservations." The Zhang leader smirked with crossed arms. The man in the fancy clothes scoffed before saying, "Of course you didn't. That's the ignorance I'd expect from a messy Zhang. So unorganized and ill-prepared for a journey."

This caused most of the Zhangs to become angry with him.

"In all honesty, no one can really expect much from someone they've never really met. Not to mention, that you can't always be prepared for everything on a journey." Natasha commented. The leader of the Zhang's smirked and said while pointing at her with a thumb, "She knows what she's talking about."

Aang and Katara watched as the Zhang's still yelled in anger at the Gan Jin man. But the sound of rumbling caused everyone to be silent and turn towards a pile of rocks. Momo, who had been sitting on the pile, quickly jumped off the rocks as they rose into the air. An Earthbender then stomped his left foot and shoved the rocks to his left. When all of the rocks had been removed, the Earthbender, who had a giant white mustache and wore ragged Earth Kingdom clothing dusted himself off. Then he turned his attention to the giant crowd and said, "Sorry about the wait youngsters. Had to help a feller who wanted to cross from the other side."

Said feller, a man with a smaller mustache and orange tinted glasses, came up behind him and said, "Thanks again for helping me across the canyon, my friend."

The guide gave a hearty laugh and said, "No problem at all. Helping folks out is something I'm just really good at."

"Ha, ha. That you are indeed." The other man said. Then taking a few copper pieces out of his pocket he said, "Here's a little something for your troubles."

"Much appreciated." The guide said and waved goodbye as the man walked off into the forest. Then turning back to the crowd, he gestured toward the Great Divide and asked, "Who's ready to cross this here canyon?"

"Uh, one of them," Katara said and pointed at the two, well one tribe and a representative, "I think."

"I was here first." The man wearing a fancy robe said while rushing up. It caused Sokka to lean back as the man said, "My party's on their way."

"I can't guide people who aren't here." The guide told him. The Zhang leader smirked as she and her tribe walked past the Gan Jin and said, "Guess you guys will have to make the trip tomorrow."

"Guess that's kind of what you get for being a little arrogant." Natasha commented. The Zhang leader started laughing from this. The Gan Jin tribesman's eye twitched as his enemies walked by, but when he looked down the path he came, he saw his tribe and happily pointed, "Wait, here they come."

Just like him, his tribe wore fancy robes as well. The Gan Jins kept their hair neatly kept and their hand in a mannerly formation. The Zhangs turned around and saw their hated enemies walking up. Soon the guide, Aang, Steve, Katara, Sokka, Natasha, and Appa stood in between both enemy tribes.

The Zhang leader jabbed a finger at the guide and said, "You're not seriously going to cave in to these spoiled Gan Jins." He then said, "I mean, we're refugees, too." An then he pointed out, "And we've got sick people that need shelter."

"I, uh… well…" The guide tried to say. The representative from the Gan Jin tribe then said, "We've got old people who are weary from traveling."

"Sick people get priority over old people." The Zhang leader said.

"Maybe you Zhangs wouldn't have so many sick people if you weren't such slobs." The Gan Jin leader added as a jab. Then the Zhang leader retorted by saying, "If you Gan Jins weren't so clean maybe you wouldn't live to be so old."

The five of the group watched the argument unfold. They looked back and forth as the Gan Jin leader said, "I could smell your stink a mile away."

"Well, Aang," Katara said to her friend and asked, "ready to put your peacemaking skills to the test?"

"Do you think you could do this like when you helped with Hei Bai?" Steve asked.

"I don't know-" Aang honestly said as he thought about the predicament. He made a point in differences by saying, "a fight over chores is one thing. These people have been feuding for a hundred years."

Katara then decided to help by stepping forward and shouting, "Everyone listen up." Then pointing to him, she said, "This is the Avatar."

The people of both groups looked to the boy as she said, "And if you give him a chance, I'm sure he can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy."

She turned to him as everyone waited to see what wisdom he could say. Aang looked between the two tribes and then suggested, "Uh, you could share the Earthbender and travel together?"

"Absolutely not." The Gan Jin said in disgust. Then he proved how much he hated them by saying, "We'd rather be taken by the Fire Nation than travel with those stinking thieves."

"We wouldn't travel with you pompous fools anyway." The leader of the Zhangs retaliated. Both groups started arguing over the other as they threw insults. Aang tried to keep his cool, but lost it as he shouted, "All right, here's the deal!"

Both tribes stopped arguing as they listened to the Avatar as he shouted, "You're all going down together, and Appa here will fly your sick and elderly across." He seemed a little more calm as he asked, "Does that seem fair?"

Both leaders of the Zhang and Gan Jin tribes nodded in agreement. Aang, Steve, Sokka, Natasha and Katara all smiled to see that a compromise had been reached.

Five to Ten minutes later…

Both the elderly and the sick had been helped into Appa's saddle. But like the rest of their tribes, both the Gan Jins and the Zhangs kept to their own sides. Aang patted Appa's head and said, "Sorry, Appa. You'll have to do this on your own."

"But we know you can do it, big guy." Natasha said comfortingly as she stroked an ear while standing beside Katara. Sokka walked over and came out with it, "Aang, this feuding tribe stuff is serious business.

"Are you sure it's a good idea getting involved in this?" Sokka asked in concern. Aang didn't really know as he said, " To tell you the truth, I'm not sure." He put on a big goofy smile and said, 'But when have I ever been?"

"And he'll know what to do should he really need it." Steve said, coming up behind his friend. Katara was with both of them as she pointed out, "He's the Avatar, Sokka. Making peace between people is his job."

"His job's going to make us cross this whole thing on foot, isn't it." Sokka glumly said. Nat stepped in and said, "Hey, you could always ride with the elderly of the Gan Jin and the sick of the Zhang. I'm sure you can hear stories from ancient times while trying to keep yourself from becoming ill."

Sokka thought about it for a moment before cringing with a shudder. All three groups looked to see the canyon guide come out of the little building as he said, "Okay, now comes the bad news." He didn't sound regretful when he said, "No food allowed in the canyon. It attracts dangerous predators."

This caused another outraged burst of angry shouting from the two tribes. Even the Gan Jin leader seemed outraged by it by saying, "No food? This is ridiculous."

"Aw," The canyon guide said, feeling pity for them as he said, "you babies can go a day without food." Then he made an excellent point, 'Would you rather be hungry or dead?"

Then with outstretched arms, he lowered them and his knees before raising them and himself with a tall pillar of stone. When he was high enough, he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted to all of them, "Now, we're heading down in ten minutes. All food had better be in your gut or in the garbage."

Both tribes then started to eat what food they had. The Zhangs started eating rather nosily and sloppy. The Gan Jins however ate with manners and with chopsticks instead of their hands.

Aang held onto Appa's left horn as he spoke to the people in his saddle, "Appa's going to take care of you till we get there."

Then he jumped down and said, "See you on the other side, buddy. Yip, yip."

Appa groaned as he took flight over the canyon.

x

Soon the guide, Aang and his friends, the Gan Jin and the Zhang all walked down a trail into the canyon. Steve looked over the side and noticed that a few pieces of the trail were missing. After a few steps, the guide stopped Aang from going any further, mostly from going over the side. Then with a spin and a thrust of his arm, the guide caused a row of giant blocks of earth to slide out from the canyon wall. As the guide kept moving Aang thought it was neat and complimented, "Nice bending."

The young Airbender ran to catch up to the guide. Then the older man looked down at Aang and said, "The job's much more than bending, kid. Folks want information." He stopped and began a lesson, "Many of you are probably wondering how canyons are formed."

"In our world, we have a different explanation." Nat quietly told Sokka. It didn't deter the guide as he said, "Experts tell us this canyon was most likely carved into the ground by Earth Spirits who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice."

Sokka and Katara looked to each other as a low rumble intensified. Everyone gasped and looked up to see a rockslide coming down at them. The rocks came down fast along the canyon wall. The guide acted by placing both hands over his head and when the rocks came close, he angled them to go over the edge and down into the canyon. When all the rocks were gone, he chuckled while dusting off his hands. Then he told everyone, "Guess the spirits are still angry." Then in a joking manner he said, "Hope you all brought sacrifices."

This makes the five friends look to each other in worry or with deadpanned looks as he forged on. Sokka leaned to Natasha and asked, "Is it too late to believe your method on how canyons are formed.

x

Soon everyone made it to the bottom of the canyon and stood a few feet from the wall. The guide stood next to a huge boulder and warned everyone, "Okay, everyone stand clear of the wall."

Then with a grunt of effort as he stomped, he lifted the boulder off the ground before chucking it at the section of the path he made earlier. The boulder crashed into it and sent another rockslide down. As rocks and dust fell to the ground, Aang looked to the guide and asked him, "Why'd you do that?"

"These people are fleeing the Fire Nation, aren't they?" The guide asked while reminding him. Then he made the point, "Got to make sure we can't be followed. We'll be safe now."

He was proven wrong; however, when a giant insectoid leg of a creature came out of the dust and grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted the yelling man up. Aang twirled his staff and sent an air wave to clear the dust. The others prepared for a fight as Nat loaded her stingers and Cap placed his helmet on his head. When the dust cleared, it revealed the rest of the creature as it had the guide in his mouth. It shook the screaming man in his mouth. While the two tribes just stood and watched, Sokka ran up and shouted, "We gotta help him!"

Then he threw his boomerang at the creature. It hit the creature in the side of the head and made it drop the guide. It threw the Earthbender away as it hissed at Sokka and charged. The Earthbending guide fell to the ground with a pained groan. Sokka became fearful as he started to run away and shout, "Okay, now we got to help me!"

As it chased Sokka over and around a mound of rock, Cap came in with a drop kick with both feet to its head. The creature's head crashed into it as Katara pulled out the water from her waterskin. She then threw a water whip at it. The water whip hit the creature in the face. It growled in anger and lunged with a bite at the Waterbender. While she ran away, Nat shot a few electro-stings at the creature before Aang jumped in front of it with a vertical air slash. It sent the creature spinning as it slid. Then it growled as it came in for another round. But Aang wouldn't let it as he ran at the creature and started to make a horizontal tornado that caught the creature. The horizontal tornado made the creature spin really fast. The tornado kicked up a lot of dust that made everyone brace themselves. Aang maneuvered the tornado to press the creature to the ground before maneuvering a slam with his staff. It made the tornado launch the creature up to the canyon wall. The creature then gave up the fight and disappeared into the rocky wall.

"What was that?" Aang asked the guide. Katara knelt by him as the guide laid on his back and weakly said, "Canyon crawler." He groaned in pain while the now helmet removed Steve helped inspect him. Then the guide said, "And there's sure to be more."

"Your arms-" Katara worriedly said as she inspected one, "they're broken."

"Without my arms," the guide regretfully said, "I've got no bending. In other words…"

"We're trapped in this canyon." Aang fearfully finished. While Katara and Steve worked to patch the guide up while Sokka questioned to Natasha, "I thought the whole point of ditching our food was so we wouldn't have to deal with things like canyon crawlers."

"And I thought everyone had gotten rid of what food they had when we came down here." Natasha said in agreement. The Gan Jin leader then was quick to cast blame by pointing and said, "It's the Zhangs. They took food down here, even after the guide told them not to."

"What?!" The Zhang leader questioned in disbelief and anger. She wouldn't take it lightly and retaliated by blaming the Gan Jin, "If there's anyone who can't go without food for a day, it's you pampered Gan Jins."

"I hope you're happy." The Gan Jin leader said, still blaming his enemy, "We're stuck in this canyon with no way out."

Aang became a little annoyed by the arguing as the Zhang leader retorted, "Why don't you thank yourself, food hider?"

"Look," Aang said as he came between the two of them. Then he pointed out, "sticking together is the only way to…"

But the Zhang leader would have no part of it as she interrupted, "I'm not walking another step with the likes of them."

"Now there's something we can agree on." The Gan Jin leader said while crossing his arms. Aang looked to his friends and the guide and asked, "Any ideas?"

"No bending-" The guide said out of fear. He may have been losing his mind as he said, "we need to get out of this canyon. I won't die down here. I won't become part of the food chain."

"See?" The Gan Jin leader questioned before placing the blame again, "We're going to become part of the food chain because of you!"

"Sure, unjustly blame the Zhangs like you always do." The Zhang leader said, as if there was more going on. The Gan Jin leader didn't hesitate when he said, "Gladly."

A gust of wind blew everyone's hair as Aang shouted, "Enough!" He sounded really annoyed as he said, "I thought I could help you guys get along, but I guess that's not going to happen."

Then with a jump enhanced by airbending, Aang leapt to the top of a rock to where he could look at everyone. Then he deciding a different solution he suggested, "We should split up," Pointing to the path on his left with his staff he said, "Gan Jins on this side," Then moving his staff to the other path, "and Zhangs on that side."

Steve, Katara, Natasha and Sokka looked up to him as Aang said, "We'll travel in two separate lines."

Feeling comfortable with this arrangement, both the leader of the Zhangs and the leader of the Gan Jin nodded in agreement. Then they led their tribes down the separate paths. Aang watched them split up before leaping off the rock. Landing in front of his friends he gave them a task while Momo landed on his shoulder, "Sokka and Natasha, you go with the Zhangs, and Steve and Katara, you go with the Gan Jins." He explained why as he said, "See if you can find out why they hate each other so much."

The siblings didn't hesitate to follow after their assigned tribe. But Steve and Natasha stayed behind as the former asked, "Aang, are you sure that this is something that should happen."

"Yeah," Aang said as he thought about how he handled it, "that might not have been my best moment, but I figured that with them arguing, we'd never get anything done."

"So, basically, this is a way to get them moving and yet not fight amongst themselves." Natasha deduced. Aang shrugged before saying, "I guess that's one way of putting it."

"And us gathering the necessary information might help you to figure out a way to potentially resolve their issues." Nat guessed. Aang stared at her with a blank stare before saying, "I didn't get much of that, but I did hear about the part that I understood about them not fighting anymore."

Nat chuckled before walking after Sokka and the Zhang tribe. Steve gave one last look at Aang before walking after Katara and the Gan Jin tribe. Aang then jumped back onto the rock and watched their progress from up high.

x

Zhang camp

After covering much ground during the day, the sun began to set as both tribes began to settle down for the night. From a distance, Aang and Momo watched as the two groups setting up camp.

Over at the Zhang camp, the leader and a few of his fellow Zhang worked on setting up the tents. Sokka and Natasha came up behind the leader as the former asked, "So, you guys aren't going to put up your tarps?"

"What for?" The leader asked. Then he said something that Sokka said, "It's the dry season."

"Exactly!" Sokka said, feeling like the Zhangs understood him. Then the Zhang leader made another point that appealed to Sokka, "Besides, we like to use the tarp as a blanket."

"Finally, someone gets it." Sokka said as if he had a place among the Zhangs. Natasha silently chuckled to how well Sokka got along with the Zhangs.

Gan Jin camp

A small scorpion crawled over a tall rock at a distance as Katara and Steve walked over to the Gan Jin leader. Unlike the tents of the Zhangs, the Gan Jin had their tents made in a much more neater fashion. As two Gan Jins raised a tarp of a tent, Katara looked to their leader and asked, "You really think it will rain?"

"No," The Gan Jin leader said. But then he seemed cautious while prideful as he pointed out, "but you can never be too careful, right?"

Katara knew what he meant as she had a big grin on her face. Steve shook his head in humor as the thought back to the previous sunset.

x

Later that night, as a crescent moon hung over the Gan Jin camp, Katara, Steve and the Gan Jin sat around a campfire. Katara and Steve looked at the people of the tribe as they sat and stared at the fire. Then the leader of the Gan Jin looked around before looking down to the sleeves of his robe. Then parting the sleeves he revealed that he had a loaf of bread. Steve and Katara gasped disbelief before they looked around and saw that all of the Gan Jin had food with them. The Gan Jin leader then offered the loaf, "Would you care for some bread, Katara? Steve?"

"So it was you guys who had food." Katara said aloud. The Gan Jin leader then said, "Oh, come now. You really think that tribe of thieves isn't smuggling food?" Then he looked to the direction of the Zhang camp before asking, "Why should my people go hungry when the sneaky Zhangs are stuffing their faces?"

It didn't do anything to change Steve's mood as he felt angry as he said, "You do realize that even though that they did, you openly blamed the Zhangs when you were at fault too."

"That maybe." The leader of the Gan Jin said. But he didn't feel any different as he said, "But still, I won't let my people suffer."

Steve didn't say any more about it, just had a disapproving look in his eye. The Gan Jin leader still had the bread held toward Katara. She felt uneasy, but soon got over it by saying, "Well, I guess it's okay, if everyone's doing it."

Then she took the bread and started eating it.

"Katara!" Steve scolded her, seeing as how food got them into this mess in the first place. Steve gave her a look, making her say in defense, "What?"

He sighed as he hung his head. But then she remembered the reason they were there and asked the leader, 'So why does your tribe hate the Zhangs so much?"

"You seem like a smart girl, Katara. I bet you and your friend would enjoy hearing some history." The Gan Jin leader said. Then he began the story of the rivalry's start.

X

(Flashback 100 years ago)

 _One hundred years ago, as the sun rose above a mountainous region with a gate not too far. A man dressed in ancient Gan Jin robes stood tall before carrying out his duty._

 **Gan Jin Leader:** _"The patriarch of our tribe, Jin Wei was an Earthbender Warrior who was assigned an important duty- transporting our sacred orb from the Great Eastern Gate to the Great Western Gate."_

 _Jin Wei was handed the orb from another and held it before the hole at the top. A golden beam of sun light touched the orb for a moment or two. Then he ran from the Eastern to the Western Gate._

 **Gan Jin Leader:** _"Taking the orb from the East to the West represents the sun's rising and setting. It was our tribe's ancient redemption ritual."_

 _Jin Wei ran through many terrains, from a path with tall stones, through a forest and past a lake. And across a plain and into another forest. But as he neared the gate, a man in animal skin and a large and unkept head of hair, a Zhang no duh, knocked Jin Wei to the ground and sent the orb flying through the air._

 **Gan Jin Leader: "** _But as he approached the gate, Jin Wei was attacked by one of the Zhang, a vermin named Wei Jin who looked at the orb with envy."_

 _Wei Jin held the orb as it was touched by the rays of the sun. He brought it down and looked at it with greed. Then Wei Jin looked over at the fallen Jin Wei with a glare before it turned into a sneer as he held the orb close to keep it for himself._

 **Gan Jin Leader:** _"That coward Wei Jin knocked to the ground and stole our sacred orb."_

 _The light from the sun disappeared as Wei Jin took off with the orb, leaving a hurt Jin Wei lying on the ground._

(End of Flashback)

x

"Our people have never forgotten." The Gan Jin leader finished. Then he said in anger and conviction, "You can never trust a Zhang."

Katara thought about his words and turned to the Zhang camp with a glare. But Steve was quick to nudge her and said, "Don't be so quick to judge, Katara."

Zhang Camp

Over at the other campsite, Sokka prodded at the fire with a stick while Natasha laid on her back and gazed up at the stars. While they did that, the leader of the Zhangs pulled out a fried bird's thigh and offered it to Sokka, "Care for some meat?"

"Would I!" Sokka said, clearly happy to see some food and took it as Nat shot up. She looked at the meat in disbelief and gave a slight glare to Sokka who happily ate it. The spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. looked around and saw that the rest of the Zhangs were eating as well. The Zhang leader looked a little guilty as she said, "I know what you both must be thinking. We're horrible for endangering everybody by bringing food down here."

"Mm-hmm." Sokka said as he munched on the meat, not really caring or paying attention to what the Zhang leader said.

"A little bit, yeah." Natasha said when she looked at the leader. But then her expression softened a little as she said, "But I also know that you mostly did it to protect your tribe."

The Zhang leader smiled at her understanding, but thought about the situation as she said, "The Gan Jin think so badly of us they probably assumed we brought food in and decided to bring food in themselves. That's why we brought food in."

"Mm." Sokka said, still eating his meat. Then Natasha brought up the subject Aang told to ask, "If you don't mind us wanting to know, why do you and the Gan Jin hate each other so?"

The Zhang leader then told them, "Our conflict with the Gan Jin goes back over a hundred years."

x

(Flashback over a hundred years ago)

 _In a forest long ago, along a mountainous trail within a forest, stood the Great of the West. A man ran through the gate posts. As he ran he stopped when he saw something along the path._

 **Zhang Leader: "** _Our forefather Wei Jin was leaving the Western Gate of our village when he saw a figure in the distance."_

 _Lying on the ground was a man in Gan Jin robes and looking as if he were trying to reach for something. It was the sacred orb of his tribe._

 **Zhang Leader:** _"It was a man of the Gan Jin tribe- Jin Wei, collapsed on the ground. Noble Wei Jin stopped to help him. Jin Wei was transporting a sacred orb, a very powerful relic used in his tribe's redemption ritual."_

 _Wei Jin came up to the Gan Jin to treat his wounds, but Jin Wei insisted that the orb was more important than him at the moment. Then Jin Wei asked Wei Jin to return the orb back to his tribe._

 **Zhang Leader:** _"Wei Jin tried to tend to the man's wounds, but Jin Wei insisted the orb was more important, and asked him to take it back to his tribe. Kind Wei Jin promised to send help for the man as soon as he could,"_

 _Wei Jin then ran up to the orb and picked it up as he ran. He quickly ran along the path towards the Gan Jin border, but was met with other than kind arms._

 **Zhang Leader:** _"but as Wei Jin crossed the border to return the orb into Gan Jin territory, he was arrested."_

 _Gan Jin soldiers appeared before Wei Jin and one struck him with his sword. The blow sent Wei Jin and the orb flying back. The poor Zhang went tumbling along the ground. He was later brought to a Gan Jin holding cell and thrown in._

 **Zhang Leader:** _"Instead of thanking him for his kind and selfless deed, they sentenced him to twenty long years in prison."_

 _Wei Jin looked back with an angry glare as the doors closed and darkness surrounded him._

(End of Flashback)

x

"We Zhangs will never forget that injustice." The Zhang leader said with an angry scowl as she thought of what happened to her forefather. Sokka and Nat felt moved by the story when Sokka said, "That's just terrible."

Natasha was going to say something when Sokka eyed the leader's meat and asked, "You gonna finish that?"

The Zhang leader was quick to answer by taking a bite out of his piece of meat. Natasha then smacked him in the shoulder for his insensitivity. Sokka looked glum as he rubbed his shoulder. Natasha then turned to her attention to the Zhang leader and said, "I'm really sorry about the way the Gan Jin see you."

"Your words are kind." The Zhang leader said with a smile. But it fell when she said, "But there's not much one can do to see us differently."

x

Aang looked over a ridge of rocks as he looked over both camps. He sighed before saying, "Sure would be nice to be around one of those campfires, telling stories and laughing."

Momo chitters in agreement as he watches with Aang. Aang comforted the lemur by saying, "It's okay, Momo, we'll be out of here soon enough." He tried to perk the lemur up by saying, "And then we can eat our weight in lychee nuts."

Momo looked up and his ears stood up as he saw something. A bug flew by as Momo reached up and grabbed it. Aang watched in disgust as Momo started to eat the bug. The lemur noticed that he was being insensitive and offered the bug to his friend. But Aang politely declined and said, "Nah, I'll wait for the lychee nuts."

"It's lonely, isn't it," The guide said from behind. Aang looked back to see the guide limping up to the ridge as he said, "being impartial."

"I wish I could help these people get along," Aang said, referring to the feuding tribes. He felt a little discouraged when he said, "but it just seems impossible." Then he changed the subject from one problem to another and said, "Anyhow, I guess our biggest problem is getting out of here."

"I'm not so sure the two problems are unrelated." The guide told him before closing his eyes. Aang began to thing about what the guide meant as he looked down.

x

Zhang camp

When she felt everyone was asleep, Natasha poked her head around a tent before sneaking around the camp. She saw a sentry posted to keep an eye out for dangers as she came close to the edge of the camp. When he walked away and was out of sight, the spy quickly yet silently made a dash to the rest of the canyon.

Gan Jin camp

Steve kept watch with three other Gan Jin while everyone else slept. As he rounded a tent, he saw something in the distance. Taking a closer look, he sat Nat waving at him from behind a rock in between the two camps. Looking about to see if anyone was looking, he then used his super soldier speed to race to his fellow Avenger.

Meeting point

Natasha stepped back as Steve jumped over the rock and hid himself so no one would see them. When he looked over the rock to see if anyone saw him, he nodded that they were in the clear. Steve then asked, "What have you learned?"

"A little of their history." She answered before redirecting the question, "And you?"

"Same." Steve said before looking down as he knew something more about their situation. Then he said, "But I'm afraid I've got an ugly truth about the Gan Jin."

"Yeah, same over with the Zhangs." Nat begrudgingly said. They both said it at the same time, "They brought food down into the canyon."

Both the spy and the super soldier looked to the other and questioned, "Your group brought in food?"

"Yeah, the Gan Jin leader and his tribe revealed their food at the campfire." Steve said as he crossed his arms. Nat sighed before saying, "Same with the Zhangs. But at least had the sense to feel a little guilty about it." Then she asked, "How did the Gan Jin act about it?"

"They were a little too proud to admit that they were wrong." Steve said as he thought about how the Gan Jin leader acted. Natasha chuckled and said, "Yeah, well, that's what one gets when they deal with a stuffy Gan Jin."

"Hey, hey now," Steve said. He may have not like what they did, but he defended them by saying, "they maybe a little more strict on how they act, but they do so for a reason. They view themselves as well mannered. Something that I doubt the Zhangs might every really be."

Natasha felt a little offense to that and said, "Hey, they might be a little unkept with their hair and in other areas of how they live, but they are actually a good crowd. And the Gan Jin kind of wrongly accuse them for nearly everything."

"Like when?" Steve asked. Natasha scoffed at this before saying, "How about just today when the Gan Jin were quick to place the blame, even though correct, on the Zhang when they were just as wrong. And they only retaliated in anger."

Steve then said, "Well the Zhangs attempted to steal the guide earlier this morning. And they had someone come save their place."

"Okay, even though the Gan Jin had sent someone to hold a spot," Natasha countered with her own point, "they were almost late for the guide and the Zhang just happened to arrive before them."

"You know what Nat," Steve, his anger rising, said, "why don't you go back to the Zhangs. It's obvious that you get along with anyone who doesn't follow the rules from time to time."

"Well, at least the Zhangs live a little more freely than the Gan Jin. Something I doubt a soldier like you ever could." Natasha countered before walking back to the Zhang camp. Steve huffed before doing the same.

x

The next morning, both the Gan Jin and the Zhang were on the move again. Both Aang and the canyon guide stood on a path that overlooked the separate tribes. The guide then informed, "All clear. We're almost to the other side."

As they came around the bend, the divided tribes could see the other wall to the canyon. When the two tribes were about to meet up again, the Zhang leader looked over to the Gan Jin as Aang jumped down to keep an eye on them. Aang looked between the two tribes until Steve, Katara, Sokka and Natasha brought up the rear of the two groups. Aang then asked, "Katara, Steve, Sokka, Natasha, will these people cooperate long enough to get out of the canyon?"

"I don't think so, Aang." Katara was quick to say on the Gan Jin's behalf. She and Steve remembered the story and Katara took their side by saying, "The Zhangs really wronged the Gan Jins. They ambushed Jin Wei and stole the sacred orb."

"The Zhangs really aren't the sort of people to get along with." Steve added. This confused Aang and he asked, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Yeah, Katara, what are you guys talking about?" Sokka questioned with a glare at her accusation of the Zhangs. He told what they learned from them, "Wei Jin didn't steal the orb. He was returning it to their village gate and was wrongfully punished by the Gan Jin."

"Plus, the Zhangs aren't so bad once you get to know them." Natasha added, mostly towards Steve. He glared as Katara commented with her arms crossed, "Not punished enough, if you ask me."

"Hey, twenty years is punishment enough for some people, not to mention kind of cruel for a good deed." Nat shot back while Sokka gave his sister a frustrated glare. Aang, not wanting another argument, tried to calm them down by saying, "Okay, okay, I get it!" Then he redirected their focus to helping the two tribes, "Now I need your help. Let's get everyone together at the base of the canyon wall."

Both Natasha and Steve's expressions softened as Nat tried to tell him, "Aang, before anything else, there's something you need to kn-"

She didn't get to finish as Aang took off on his glider to the canyon wall. She sighed as she joined the others as they ran to catch up to the Zhangs and Gan Jins. The two tribes clamored as they stood near the base of the wall. Aang landed between the two tribes as they glared at their polar opposites. Then trying to find a solution for the problem he said, "Please, everyone, as soon as we get out of here, we can eat, and then go our separate ways."

"Too late on the eating part." Natasha mumbled to herself. The other three heard her but didn't do anything as Aang asked the two tribes, "But I need you all to put your heads together and figure out a way up this cliff."

"Maybe the Zhang can climb the wall with their long disgusting fingernails." The Gan Jin leader insulted. The leader of the Zhangs didn't take too kindly to that and retorted with a piece of the past, "Oh, sorry! I forgot that, to the Gan Jin, unclipped fingernails is a crime punishable by twenty years in jail."

The two leaders then threw insults with the Gan Jin leader saying, "Why, you dirty thief."

"You pompous fool." The Zhang leader shot back. Soon, both tribes, Sokka and Nat, and Katara and Steve started arguing over each other. Aang had had enough by shouting, "Guys, focus!" Then he said, "How many times do I have to say it, harsh words won't solve problems? Action will."

The Zhang leader then thought about what Aang said and looked at the Gan Jin leader as she said, "Perhaps the Avatar is right."

"Yes, perhaps he is." The Gan Jin leader said in somewhat agreement. Aang looked between the two with a hopeful smile. But his words went the wrong way as the intensity between both leaders grew.

"Harsh words will never solve our problems." The Zhang leader said as she glared at her enemy. The Gan Jin leader felt the same as he said, "Action will."

Both leaders unsheathed their weapons, a straight sword to represent the elegance of the Gan Jin and a curved-blade sword to represent the wild and unpredictable nature of the Zhang. Both leader and blade met in the middle with a clash and a, "Hyah!"

Aang gasped in fear as the swords trembled. Steve, Natasha, Katara and Sokka all looked at the scene with mixed emotions. When the two leaders parted their blades, the Gan Jin leader said, "To the death, and let this be the end of this rivalry."

"You know," Aang said as he tried to take a different approach by desperately saying, 'I take it back. Harsh words aren't so bad."

The Zhang leader backed up a bit before displaying his skills with a blade by spinning it over his head. Both leaders came in for another lunge with the curved blade blocking the straight sword. The Gan Jin leader was able to move the Zhang leader's sword away from its defensive position before trying a spinning swipe with his own blade. The Zhang leader was able to block the strike as it went for her legs and pushed the Gan Jin's weapon to the side. Then the Zhang came in with an overhead strike but the Gan Jin was able to move back before being cut down. The Zhang leader tried to move forward with her blade, but the Gan Jin leader was able to block it with the tip of his sword pointing to the ground. Then the Zhang leader tried to use a horizontal strike on his older opponent, who happened to move out of the way just in time. Both blades clashed again from overhead strikes before the Zhang leader tried to take off his enemy's head while the Gan Jin leader ducked underneath it. The Gan Jin leader tried to skewer the Zhang leader but the Zhang was able to side step it. The Zhang blocked the Gan Jin when the old man tried it again. Sparks flew as blades scraped against each other. The two tribe leaders became locked in a power struggle with their blades stuck in an 'x' formation. Both leaders tried to move their adversary and nearly butted heads in the process. Then they pushed back and stumbled to their respective side.

When the Gan Jin leader stopped himself from falling, he readied himself for another fight. But as he raised his blade, a majority of his beard fell off his face, shocking him. Then he looked up to the Zhang leader with wide eyes. The Zhang leader stopped stumbling as well and readied herself with a smirk to see that she was able to cut something off of the Gan Jin. But then the majority of the left bun fell off of her head. She watched in surprise as the hair fell to the ground. Then she growled in anger that the Gan Jin was able to land a swipe. The two leaders then began to swing wildly at each other.

But neither of them was able to do anymore fighting as Aang jumped between them with his staff held high. He brought it down with a shout and blasted both all the Gan Jin and all the Zhang back while food flew out from their hiding places. Aang's friends tried to stay on their feet Aang snarled and panted while looking between the two tribes. But he gasped when he saw something and questioned, "Is that food?"

The scout from the Gan Jin tribe tried to hide it by kicking the tarp. Aang then realized it as he questioned, "Everyone smuggled food down here?" He was practically fuming in anger as he shouted, "Unbelievable!" Aang then angrily questioned as the Zhang leader picked up the scattered food, " You guys put our lives in danger because you couldn't go without a snack for a day?" The Zhang looked to the Avatar as he said the only word that really described them at the moment, "You're all awful!"

Natasha looked sheepish as she said, "Yeah, this was what I was trying to tell you earlier."

But Aang's expression changed from anger to one of hunger as he eyed something. Amongst the Zhang's food, a bowl of something tasty looking stood in a spotlight. The Avatar's stomach felt so empty as he clutched it. Then he said with wide eyes, "So hungry." He forgot all about his anger over the situation as he asked, "Is that egg custard in that tart?"

"You're kidding, right?" Both Steve and Natasha asked.

But his appetite would have to wait as he and everyone heard something coming from the canyon wall. Aang looked up to see a giant swarm of canyon crawlers surrounding the trapped tribes and friends. The giant bugs roared when they saw the food and it made the people of the tribes scream in terror. They ran as the canyon crawlers came closer. Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha all ran behind a rock to better prepare themselves. Katara looked worried as she exclaimed, "Oh, no! That's a lot of canyon crawlers."

"We barely survived one." Sokka remembered as he pulled out his boomerang. Steve pulled his helmet on and removed his shield from his back as he said, "We weren't prepared for that first one. Hopefully we'll do better this time."

"Then let's play exterminator." Natasha said while looking ready for a fight. They stopped when they noticed the guide backing away and saying in fear, "They're coming back for me. They've had a taste, and they're coming back for me."

Sokka was about to move around the rock to fight, but Katara grabbed his arm and said, "Sokka, wait." He looked at his sister as she basically apologized, "I don't care about this stupid feud. I just want us to get out of here alive."

"Me, too." Sokka said as he felt guilty about arguing with her. She smiled at their reconciling as he admitted, "I only took their side 'cause they fed me."

Steve and Natasha then looked to each other before Steve said, "So, things might have gotten a little out of hand last night."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Natasha said and held out her hand for their friendship. Steve took it and firmly grasped it before all four of them rushed to help Aang out. The canyon crawlers came at them in full force. Aang took off on his glider and when he was over some, he twirled his staff before dropping out of the sky. When he touched down he sent an air wave at the ones closest to the wall. But it didn't do much as some still stood and those that were knocked over stood back up. They growled and hissed as they charged again. Aang glared at them as they charged at him and when five launched themselves at him, he jumped high over their heads. Aang looked down at the pile of canyon crawlers before landing on one's snout. He jumped off and did a back flip before doing a vertical air slash with a shout. The canyon crawlers were sent all over the place and laid across the ground.

But they didn't stay down long as they turned themselves back upright and came again. Everyone gasped as the canyon crawlers came at them. An unlucky Gan Jin got his robe caught in the jaws of one. Natasha came in with a drop kick to its head, causing the robe to rip and allowing the Gan Jin to flee. The canyon crawler didn't take the kick well and chased after Nat. The Zhang leader quickly pulled out her blade and started to swing it to keep the giant bugs at bay. When she lunged her blade at one, it grabbed the steel into its jaws. She yelled when the canyon crawler pulled him back. Katara ran around looking for someone to help and saw three Gan Jin, one was a man with a sword trying to defend the woman. Katara used a water whip on one of the canyon crawlers to chase it away. Holding the water as a whip, she was about to throw it another when one canyon crawler came up from behind and tried to destroy her bendable weapon. Katara yelled in fright as it rushed past her.

Sokka ran in fear as he led a canyon crawler away. It followed him even when he slide down the side of a rock. When it was in range, Sokka took his boomerang and threw it at the bug. The boomerang knocked it back before returning to Sokka's hand. But he had to back away when another canyon crawler came at him from the side. Steve blocked a leg swipe from one before throwing his shield at it. The shield connected with the canyon crawler's jaw and made it back off. Steve smirked as he caught his shield, but it vanished when noticed more canyon crawlers and ran to regroup with the others. Aang had four surrounding him, but quickly blew them back when he twirled his staff over his head. When they were gone, he stopped and looked at the trouble around him. The canyon crawlers practically had everyone surrounded as they snarled in hunger. Then he turned his head to the left and noticed that four of them weren't trying to eat the people like the others. Instead, they had their heads buried in sacks of food. An idea started coming to Aang as he noticed a few sacks of food lying underneath some rubble.

Grabbing one of the sacks, he yelled to the others while holding up a sack, "Everybody! Watch me and do what I do!"

His friends, the Zhangs and the Gan Jin all watched as Aang jumped to the group that was eating. Then taking a piece of food out, he threw it at them. It bounced off one's head and ended up in the mouth of another. All four canyon crawlers turned to Aang and snarled in hunger while he shook the sack like a matador. One tried to rush Aang, but the Airbender used his quick reflexes to pull the sack over its snout before flipping onto its back. Then tightening the straps of the sack, he rode the canyon crawler like a horse.

Both tribes knew what they needed to do and worked together. One Zhang held a piece of food to bait a canyon crawler, and when it came for the treat a Gan Jin sitting on its back quickly pulled a sack over the bugs snout.

Katara lured one crawler with a fish. And as it came towards her, Sokka acted fast to pull the sack over its snout. Natasha held a piece of food in one hand and the sack in the other. The bug tried to take the piece by lunging for it instead of her, but Steve came behind it and shoved its snout into the sack with a bump of his shield. The Gan Jin Leader crouched with a piece of food in his hand while the leader of the Zhangs jumped onto its back. As he held the crawler's head in place the Gan Jin leader quickly pulled a sack over it snout. Both leaders looked to each other in satisfaction.

When everyone had acquired a canyon crawler with a sack over its snout, Aang led his crawler high above the rest. The crawlers growled in anticipation as Aang tied a sack of food to the end of his staff. Addressing the people he shouted, "Now, follow me! We're riding out of this hole!"

Then he shook the sack to get the crawlers' attention. Each crawler growled as they sniffed the waving food. When they started to follow, Aang lead his crawler up the wall of the canyon. Thanks the canyon crawlers' legs, they were able to climb up the canyon wall with ease and quickly. The canyon crawlers chittered as they climbed to the cliff overlooking the canyon. Momo flew a few feet from them as they neared the top. When his reached the top first with a growl, Aang jumped off and told them, "Everyone, get off!" Before running away from the canyon.

Sokka and Katara both jumped off as soon as it reached the cliff. The leader of the Gan Jin and the Zhang jumped off on opposite sides when they reached the top and moved away from the canyon. The Zhang looked to the Gan Jin and exclaimed in astonishment, "We made it!"

Steve, Nat and the guide all rode one. But when he went to get off, the guide fell onto his side with a grunt. Steve and Natasha both winced at this and she said, "Are you okay?"

The guide clarified he was fine with a thumbs up. When they jumped off themselves, Cap removed his helmet and watched for any stragglers. Then when everyone was on top of the cliff, Aang twirled his staff around before flinging the sack full of food back into the canyon. As it flew before it fell back into the canyon, the sack opened to let food rain from it. The canyon crawlers snorted and growled as they followed the food like a scavenger to its meal.

When the last one disappeared back into the canyon, everyone: Gan Jin, Zhang, Water Tribesman, the guide and the two Avengers looked in satisfaction at this victory. The Zhang leader looked to the leader of the Gan Jin and said, "I never thought a Gan Jin could get his hands dirty like that."

"And I never knew you Zhangs were so reliable in a pinch." The Gan Jin leader said as a compliment. The Zhang smiled as she said, "Perhaps we're not so different after all."

Aang let out a big relieved sigh as the four others looked to each other with a smirk. But it went sour again as the Gan Jin leader said, "Too bad we can't rewrite history." He unsheathed his blade again as he accused while pointing his blade at his enemy, "You thieves stole our sacred orb from Jin Wei."

"You tyrants unjustly imprisoned Wei Jin for twenty long years." The Zhang leader accused back while unsheathing her own blade again while pointing it back.

Aang gasps in despair while Katara, Steve, Sokka and Natasha looked shocked about the fight. Then Aang calmed down as he remembered something, "Wait a second." Using his hands as he thought, "Jin Wei? Wei Jin?" Then he smiled as he said, "I know those guys!"

"Yes, yes, we're all aware of the story." The Gan Jin leader said, not really wanting to retell it. But he became focused when the Zhang leader pointed his blade at his throat and did the same. But Aang quickly went said to stop them, "No. I mean, I really knew them."

Both leaders and his friends looked to him as he explained, "I might not look it, but I'm one hundred and twelve years old. I was there one hundred years ago on the day you're talking about."

x

(Flashback, 100 years ago)

 _In a setting where both flashback collide, Wei Jin and Jin Wei unsheathed their weapons and stared each other down._

 **Aang:** _"There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened._

 _Both Jin Wei and Wei Jin looked in confusion as Aang explained._

 **Aang:** _"First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies. They were brothers- twins, in fact._

 _Jin Wei and Wei Jin then turned into identical twins before becoming younger._

 **Aang:** _"And they were eight. And most importantly, they were playing a game."_

 _Both Wei Jin and Jin Wei cried out in excitement as they started to play. A ball appeared over their heads as he explained the game._

 **Aang:** _"The sacred orb from the legend- that was the ball."_

 _The twins watched as it fell and bounced on the ground. Then two goal posts appeared on the two opposite ends of the course._

 **Aang:** _"And the Eastern and Western Gates were the goal posts."_

 _Jin Wei carried the ball towards the left goal post while Aang explained what happened._

 **Aang:** _"Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it."_

 _The ball rolled over to Wei Jin and picked it up. Then he started carrying it across the field but stepped over the line._

 **Aang:** _"Wei Jin didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it back toward the other goal,"_

 _The referee, a panda for some odd reason, then blew his whistle and then picked Wei Jin up, making the boy drop the ball. The panda referee then carried him to a play pen to sit in time out._

 **Aang:** _"but he stepped out of bounds. So the official put him in the penalty box- not for twenty long years, but for two short minutes."_

 _The panda referee gently placed him in the penalty box. Little Wei Jin had his arms crossed as he looked with a scowl. Jin Wei gave a taunting laugh while pointing at Wei Jin._

(End of Flashback)

x

His four friends smiled as he was able to put the whole thing to rest, "There was no stealing and no putting anyone in prison. Just a game."

"You're saying the sacred orb was actually a sacred ball?" The Zhang leader questioned as both tribes had listened to the story while the Gan Jin leader looked as if to think. Aang was quick to answer and said, "Nope. Just a regular ball."

His friends kept smiling as they saw that Aang was handling this well.

This caused most of the two tribes look at him in wonder when the Gan Jin scout questioned, "What about our tribe's redemption ritual?"

"That's what the game was called: Redemption." Aang explained that part. Then he said, "As soon as someone got the ball from goal to the other, everyone would yell "Redemption!" He said it with a wide grin and raised arms.

Both the leader of Gan Jin and Zhang looked to each other in uncertainty. Aang then said something about the brothers, "Don't get me wrong; Wei Jin was kind of a slob, and Jin Wei was a little stuffy, that much is true." But then he said something really deep to the wondering tribes, "But they respected each other's differences enough to share the same playing field."

This caused the leaders to turn to each other. The leader of the Zhang then tried to mend their relationship by saying, "I suppose it's time we forget the past."

"And look to the future." The Gan Jin leader said in agreement with a bow, signaling the end of the rivalry. The Zhang leader followed up with his own bow. Aang smiled as he looked between both tribe leaders.

x

Soon Aang was reunited with Appa as the Gan Jin and Zhang were reunited with the rest of their tribe. While Katara, Sokka, Natasha and Steve talked with the guide, Aang hugged Appa's head and said, "Good to see you, boy. Did you miss me?"

Appa made it clear by giving his friend a huge lick with a snort. Aang giggled at this as the Gan Jin leader came over. Then he humbly said, "I cannot thank you enough, Avatar."

"Well, you know, I try." Aang said as he turned to face the Gan Jin leader. The man cringed in disgust when he saw that Aang was covered in bison slobber, "Oh!"

When the Gan Jin leader came to stand with the Zhang leader, the Zhang leader then said to unify them, "Let us travel to the Earth Kingdom capitol as one tribe."

The people from the two former tribes cheered in joy to this before they all started to walk through the forest. Aang and the others watched as they departed into the woods. But they looked back in surprise as the guide leader limped past and said, "I'm going, too. I'm sick of this place."

Sokka looked to Aang and said, "That's some luck, you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin."

"Yeah. It really helped cool things down." Natasha added. Aang smiled and turned as he said, "You could call it luck," but then it turned into a sly one as he revealed, "or you could call it lying."

This surprised all four of them as Sokka questioned, "What?!"

"I made the whole thing up." Aang admitted with a shrug of his shoulder. Katara, holding Momo, looked at him in disbelief as she said, "You did not." But then it turned into a smirk while Sokka's face fell when she said, "That is so wrong."

"So, I'm guessing it really doesn't bother an Avatar if they lie." Steve commented with crossed arms and a smirk. Nat looked to him with a shrug and said, "Hey, if it's for a good cause, then who are we to really judge."

"Now, where's that custard tart?" Aang asked as he looked around for it, "I'm starving!"

This caused both Avengers and the Water Tribe siblings to laugh at this.

x

Author's Note: This one was sort of fun to right, but I do need to continue onward. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I must inform you readers that after this episode I will be taking a short break from Avenging Avatar, but don't worry. I will be back with it. I have a few fans wanting me to get a move on with Dragon Ball Super GT. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Katara and Sokka watch in awe as a glowing iceberg bobs on the surface of the water…_

 _Aang was confused when the villagers were afraid of him. Gran-Gran came and said, "No one has seen an Airbender in over a hundred years. We thought they were extinct."_

" _Extinct?" Aang questioned with a slightly shocked look…_

 _Aboard the abandoned Fire Nation ship, Katara asked Aang, "Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?"_

" _I don't know, a few days maybe." Aang guessed. Katara pieced it together and said, "I think it was more like a hundred years."_

 _Aang looked at her with wide eyes as she said, "The only reason you don't know about it, because you were frozen for that long."_

" _Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked in confusion. Aang looked at them, then reluctantly said, "Because, because I never wanted to be."_

" _You're just a banished prince." Commander Zhao said before adding insult to injury, "No home, no allies, your own father doesn't even want you."_

" _I really am the last Airbender." Aang sadly said after calming down from discovering what happened to his people._

x

 **Chapter Twelve: The Storm**

While he slept, Aang dreamt that it was a sunny day while smiling as he flew through the air. He gave a small whip of the reins while Appa growled as he flew with his legs sticking out. On his left, Sokka wobbled while flying on his glider. The Water Tribe teen offered the Airbender a smile in which Aang returned it with one of his own. Then looking to his left while still smiling, Katara rose while she rode on a giant Momo's head. The giant lemur chittered as he flew by the bison while Katara waved at him. When he looked up, Aang's grin grew wider when he saw both Steve and Natasha riding on Cap's shield while a small calm whirlwind kept them from falling.

"We need you, Aang." Katara said as the six of them flew through the sky. Aang knew what she meant and said with a friendly smirk, "I need you, too."

But his smiling face changed when he looked ahead and saw rumbling storm clouds coming, changing the nice bright day into one for misery. Feeling fearful of it, Aang warned his friends, "Be careful, guys."

When they didn't answer, he looked around for them and asked, "Guys?"

Aang found himself and Appa flying alone in the dark and cloudy sky. He was surprised when a familiar face in a lotus position lowered himself in front of Aang and floated while the boy questioned, "Gyatso?"

"Why did you disappear?" His mentor/father figure asked as if he did not truly understand. Aang looked sorrowful when he said, "I didn't mean to."

Aang tried to touch the floating Airbender, but Gyatso dissolved into black dust. Aang covered his face as the dust blew onto him. When he looked up he, he was shocked to see that the storm clouds had gotten closer. As Appa flew closer to the clouds, a soft eerie voice said, "We need you, Aang."

When Appa entered the storm clouds, he started screaming as the winds became rough while it started to rain. The bison and the Avatar was knocked into the ocean. He started to lose his grip on the reins when a mixture of Gyatso and Katara's voices kept repeating, "We need you, Aang. We need you. We need you, Aang. We need you."

Then a flash of lightning and the darkened figure of Fire Lord Ozai appeared.

x

Aang woke up with a startled gasp that sent a chittering Momo running across Katara, Steve, Natasha and Sokka, waking them up with a startle as well before the lemur jumped into Appa's saddle. Sokka was the last one to shoot up while clutching both his boomerang and knife while groggily asking while he looked around, "Uh, what's going on? Did we get captured again?"

Aang was quick to make them relax by saying, "It's nothing. I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sokka said as he laid back down. While Aang laid down and curled up, Steve, Katara and Natasha all noticed how reluctant Aang was being about the nightmare. Steve then asked while keeping his voice down, "You sure you're okay, kid?"

"You know we get worried about you, right?" Natasha added, doing the same. Katara added her two cents into the mix and asked with a whisper, "Are you all right, Aang?"

"I'm okay." Aang said as he laid there thinking. None of the three really believed him as Katara said, "You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately. You want to tell me about it?"

"I think I just need some rest." Aang said before closing his eyes. Katara, Steve and Natasha all looked at each other before letting it go. They were about to lay back down when Sokka shot up and said with a smile, "You guys want to hear about _my_ dream?"

All three of them gave him deadpanned looks before Natasha said, "Just go back to sleep, Sokka."

"That's okay." Sokka said as he was both annoyed and bummed to not being able to tell it. He shrugged it off while saying as he laid back down, "I didn't want to talk about it anyway."

The other three followed suit to get some rest.

x

The next morning as the sun rose and waves crashed against the shore, Appa gave a rumbling yawn as he prepared for another day of flying. Katara and Steve walked over with supplies in their arms. Katara bent down to pick up a few things that were lying around as Steve tossed what he had up to Nat. When Appa lowered his head and looked like he was praying, Aang looked along the sky and happily said, "Look at those clear skies, buddy." Then standing up he watched as a flock of geese in v-formation flew south as he said, "Should be some smooth flying."

While the others continued packing and Momo chased a bug to eat, Katara looked into their sack of food and found it empty. Then she said while walking up Appa's tail, "Well, we better smoothly fly ourselves to a market, 'cause we're out of food."

The bison lifted the appendage as she made her way to the saddle. When she stepped in, Sokka looked in shock as he remembered something and warned to the others as Momo flew up next to him, "Guys, wait. This was in my dream. We shouldn't go to the market."

"What happened in your dream?" Katara asked while kneeling down to a pack of supplies. Steve came up beside the bison and asked with a skeptical look, "Do we really want to know?"

"I think we're about to find out." Natasha commented as all four people looked the teen. Sokka had an ominous look on his face before he eerily said, "Food eats people."

All four of them gave him deadpanned looks while Katara shook her head and Steve commented, "I knew and called it."

"Also," Sokka quickly added while pointing to the lemur as he scratched his ear, "Momo could talk." Momo looked at the teen when Sokka gave him an irritated look with crossed arms as he said, "You said some very unkind things."

The lemur's ears drooped because of this. Momo chittered as if to say he was sorry. Natasha walked over to the lemur and picked him up to start stroking his ears. Then she said to make him feel better, "There, there, Momo. He's just upset that he couldn't take those words like a man."

This only made Sokka scowl at her while she smirked and carried Momo to the other side of the saddle.

x

 **Prince Zuko's ship**

The same flock of geese honked as they flew over the ship of Prince Zuko as it sailed. The prince, while looking through a telescope, General Iroh and the Winter all stood on the deck of the ship. Iroh took a deep breath before saying, "There is a storm coming, a big one."

Both Prince Zuko, putting the telescope away, and the Winter Soldier look to him before the latter asks, "How do you know this?"

"I have smelled it on the wind." Iroh explained. But Prince Zuko was skeptical when he said, "You're out of your mind, Uncle." The prince walked to his uncle and pointed out, "The weather's perfect. There's not a cloud in sight."

"A storm is approaching from the north." Iroh said, sticking with what he feels. Then he turned to Zuko and suggested, "I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."

But Zuko wouldn't have it as he said, "We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same."

"Hey," The Winter Soldier interjected. Both men looked to him as he said to Prince Zuko, "it may not be any of my business, but I think it would be wise to heed your uncle's advice."

General Iroh smiled in appreciation before he became serious as he said to Zuko, "Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew."

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter." Prince Zuko shouted. The Winter Soldier looked surprised at the prince's outburst. All three of them turned to see the lieutenant walking up the steps. When he turned to them he gave them questionable look. Then Prince Zuko glared and walked over while saying, "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety."

The lieutenant glared as the prince walked away. Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier walked over and watched with the lieutenant as Prince Zuko walk into the ship and close the door behind him. Iroh tried to reassure the crewman by saying, "He doesn't mean that; he's just all worked up."

"I mean no offense, general," The Winter Soldier said, "but he's letting this chase with the Avatar cloud his judgement."

General Iroh sighed as he knew that the Winter Soldier was right.

x

 **Dockside Market**

Back with Aang and the others, Appa was currently floating in the water at the docks with the other boats. The group was currently in the middle of purchasing food for the trip. However, Katara wasn't entirely convinced of a melon she held in her hands. The saleswoman assured her that it was fine, "Ah, it's good. It's perfect, I'm telling you!"

Katara tested it by shaking it up and down to listen to the insides of the melon. It made her unsure as she lightly commented, "I don't know if I like the sound of that swishing."

"Come on, Katara. Just buy the melon." Natasha complained. The saleswoman seemed to be in agreement as she came around and said, "Swishing means it's ripe. It's the ripe juices swishing around, huh!"

"I think it's true, Katara." Aang said in agreement with the saleswoman as Sokka started to walk by, "Swishing means it's ripe."

"I'd listen to your friend, little missy." A man with a small moustache and orange tinted glasses as he walked by. Aang, Natasha, Sokka, Steve, Katara and the saleswoman gave him slight questioning look as he walked away.

"However," Steve warned. Katara knew what he meant and told the saleswoman while putting the melon back, "I just realized we're out of money anyway."

The saleswoman's fell before she let out an irritated groan, "Ugh!" Before swiping the basket out of Sokka's hand. When he walked by, she gave the Water Tribe teen a good kick in the rear.

The six of them stood out on the docks as Sokka rubbed his sore backside and complained, "Out of food and out of money. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"You could get a job, smart guy." Katara rhetorically said with her hands on her hips. Natasha sighed and sarcastically said, "Let's keep a lookout for any WANTED posters."

The three kids gave her questionable looks when Steve corrected her meaning, "What she meant to say was that we should keep a lookout for someone who is looking for workers."

"Oh." They all said in realization. Their attention was then stolen by a couple when the woman told her husband, "We shouldn't go out there. Please, the fish can wait. There's going to be a terrible storm."

Her last few words surprised Aang. But the fisherman wouldn't have it as he pointed out to her while she rubbed her hands, "Ah, you're crazy- it's a nice day. No clouds, no wind, no nothing." Then he jabbed a stubborn finger at her, "So quit your nagging, woman."

"Maybe we should find some shelter." Aang suggested, feeling that the woman was right. But Sokka was skeptic as every when he questioned, "Are you kidding? Shelter from what?"

"My joints say there's going to be a storm, a bad one." The woman warned her husband while crossing his arms. But the fisherman remained stubborn and said, "Well, it's your joints against my brain."

Seeing that he wouldn't listen she said, "Then I hope your brain can find someone else to haul that fish, 'cause I ain't coming."

"Then I'll find a new fish hauler or two and pay them double what you get." The fisherman shot back. He smirked as he asked, "How you like that?"

Sokka ran up and said, "I'll go."

"You're hired." The fisherman said as he pointed at Sokka. He then noticed the troubled looks his friends gave him and then turned to question, "What? You said get a job." He smirked as he said, "And he's paying double."

"Double?" The fisherman questioned. He gave Sokka a glance as he asked, "Who told you that nonsense?"

Natasha sighed and then said to the others, "I'll go with him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Then she walked over to Sokka and the fisherman and said, "Mind if I tag-a-long?"

The fisherman looked Nat up and down before saying, "You do seem like a strong woman." Then he shrugged and asked no one in particular, "Why not?"

x

 **Prince Zuko's ship**

Prince Zuko's ship soon came upon rolling storm clouds as it sailed. The Winter Soldier and most of Prince Zuko's crew stood out on the deck and saw the storm clouds roll in. The lieutenant turned to see Prince Zuko walking along the deck and said, "Ah, looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all."

Iroh walked in between them and smiled when he said, "Lucky guess."

"Lieutenant," Prince Zuko said as he turned to the man. Walking over he warned him, "you'd better learn some respect…" He lightly jabbed the lieutenant with two fingers as he said, "or I will teach it to you."

"What do _you_ know about respect?" The lieutenant questioned as Prince Zuko walked away. Iroh tried to stop him with a motion of his hand and a wide grimace. Prince Zuko stopped a few feet from the older man before the lieutenant continued, "The way you talk to everyone around here, from you hardworking crew to your esteemed uncle, shows you know nothing about respect."

Iroh shuddered and feared for them man before placing an agitated hand on his forehead. Prince Zuko, on the other hand, took what the lieutenant said differently as he started to glare at the man's words. The lieutenant then said, "You don't care about anyone but yourself." Then he added an insult, "Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"

Prince Zuko's glare deepened before he turned to the lieutenant and assumed a Firebender's stance to challenge the older man to an Agni Kai. The lieutenant followed suit and copied the prince's form while Iroh tried to ease the tension, "Easy now."

Their wrist guards sounded like clashing blades when they crossed their outstretched arms. Prince Zuko's hand started to smoke and tremble from anger. But before either Firebender could do anything else, Iroh came between them and separated them with a push and a shout, "Enough!" Then looking between the two he pointed out, "We're all a bit tired from being at sea so long." Then placing his hands inside his sleeves, he suggested to the on edge Firebenders with a smile, "I'm sure after a bowl of noodles, everyone will feel much better."

Both the lieutenant and Prince Zuko stared at each other glaring before they turned away from each other. As the lieutenant and the others of the crew walked away, Zuko harshly told his uncle, "I don't need your help keeping order on my ship."

Iroh walked over to his nephew and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. But Prince Zuko shrugged it off before walking away, leaving a saddened Iroh and a slightly concerned Winter Soldier. Prince Zuko walked to where he was far enough on deck to view out to sea.

x

 **Docks**

The storm clouds were starting to roll in over the marketplace as Sokka, Nat and the old man started to load the fishing boat. Aang took a good look up at the sky and strongly advised as Sokka carried a pack to the hole on deck, "Sokka, Natasha, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Look at the sky."

"I said I was going to do this job." Sokka said with conviction. He tried to sound brave as he tried to make a point, "I can't back out just because of some bad weather."

"Plus," Natasha said while walking up to Aang with a confident smile, "I'll be there to watch out for him."

"And the same from me to you." Sokka said before disappearing below deck. Natasha looked up and said, "Hmm." Then she shrugged it off before saying, "No, more so than you."

"Nat," Steve said and walked over to ask, "are you sure, you and Sokka should be doing this?"

"Yeah," Aang said in agreement. Then he pointed to the storm and said, "Something bad could happen out there."

"The boy with the tattoos has some sense." The old woman yelled at her husband. Then walking off she said, "You should listen to him."

"Boy with tattoos?" The fisherman questioned. Then he turned and looked Aang before saying, "Airbender tattoos.

"Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle." The fisherman said as he stepped off the boat and scared Aang a little. The fisherman asked, "You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"

"That's right?" Katara said with a smirk as Aang and Steve smiled as well. Natasha smiled for a moment before realizing his tone. It was proven that the old man wasn't smiling as angrily said, "Well, don't be so smiley about it."

The three's faces dropped as Steve and Katara gave him questionable looks. The old fisherman sounded angry when he said, "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years!" He got closer and poked a finger to Aang's chest as he accused, "You turned your back on the world."

"Hey," Steve said as he got in between Aang and the fisherman, "that's enough."

Katara was in full agreement as she defended Aang, "Don't yell at him. Aang would never turn his back on anyone."

"Oh, he wouldn't, huh?" The fisherman sarcastically asked. Then he pointed out as if to make Aang feel guilty, "Then I guess I must've imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering."

The words really got to Aang, and Natasha noticed this from her spot from behind the fisherman. Steve and Katara continued to defend their friend with the latter moving in front of him and saying, "Aang is the bravest person I know. He has done nothing but help people and save lives since I met him." Neither her nor Steve noticed that Aang was slowly backing away, but Natasha looked to Steve and Katara as the Waterbender said with her arms crossed, "It's not his fault he disappeared." Then she looked back to her friend and asked, "Right, Aang?" When she and Steve looked back, they noticed the saddened look on his face as she asked, "Aang, what's wrong?"

"Kid?" Steve asks while reaching a hand out. But Aang turned and quickly took off on his glider. The young Airbender flew high over the marketplace and into the mountains. The old man walked up to the friends and shouted after Aang, 'That's right, keep flying!"

"You're a horrible old man." Katara shouted at him. The old man only scoffed at her as she and Steve ran by to Appa. Quickly climbing onto the bison's head, Steve held on as Katara took the reins and shouted, "Appa! Yip, yip!"

"Keep an out for Sokka. And stay safe, alright." Steve told Nat before they took off. Appa took off and caused a huge splash that drenched the old fisherman. Sokka had just started coming up the steps and commented to Natasha, "Hey, they left without saying good-bye to us."

"Your friends ain't too polite, are they?" The fisherman rhetorically asked after wiping off the water. Sokka felt he knew what he meant when he said, "I know!" Then he started to tell a story, "This one time, I was…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." The fisherman said as he wasn't really interested. He picked up a crate and handed it to Sokka and said, "Get below deck."

Then the old man walked off. Natasha stepped over and said to the Water Tribe Teen, "By the way, you wouldn't really be saying that if you knew why they left."

Sokka watched her as she picked up her own crate and carried it below deck.

x

 **Mountain Range**

The rain started to pour as Appa flew along the mountains. Appa growled from getting soaked while Steve and Katara searched for any signs of their friend. As they rounded the side of a mountain, both the Avenger and Waterbender noticed a small cave with a path attached to the ledge. They looked to each other and then looked to the cave before seeing a figure sitting on the cave floor. They landed Appa near the ledge and Katara took a look into cave. She turned to Steve and nodded that it was him. When they came into the cave, they wiped the water off before looking to the Avatar. He knew that they were there as he sorrowfully said, "I'm sorry for running away."

"It's okay." Katara told him. Then she added, "That fisherman was way out of line."

"Actually, he wasn't." Aang said, not turning around. This confused both of his friends as Katara asked, "What do you mean?"

Aang looked back and said, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talking about your troubles is actually the quickest way to put them to rest." Steve said as he and Katara walked in front of Aang. Katara knelt down and asked, "It has to do with your dream, doesn't it?" Placing a hand on his shoulder she said, "Talk to us."

"Well, it's kind of a long story." Aang admitted. The sound of Appa growling and a running while chittering Momo scared them a little. All three smiled as the bison lightly touched his nose to the back of Aang's head. Aang smiled up at the soggy bison while Katara stood up and said, "I'm going to try and get a little fire going."

"I'll help." Steve offered and stood up too while Aang stroked Appa's chin.

Thirty minutes later…

After getting the fire going, Katara stoked it with a small twig. Steve sat on the side with Katara, while Appa laid off to the side, and Aang sat with Momo in his lap. The room grew brighter from the fire as Aang began his story, "I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar."

(Flashback, 100 years ago)

 _It was a bright and sunny day over the Southern Air Temple. Birds chirped in the trees on the mountains that surrounded the temple. In one of the areas of the temple, a few youngsters were having fun while a sky bison flew across the sky. Two boys were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors while Aang and a few others stood next to a staircase._

 **Aang:** _"I was playing with some other kids, just outside the south wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the Air Scooter."_

"First, you form the ball." _Aang told them as he weaved his hands to create the ball of air. Then he said while maneuvering it on the ground, "_ Then, you got to get on quick. _"_

 _Then jumping onto his Air Scooter, Aang laughed as he kicked up dust while going in a circle. He moved it to rush past the other Airbenders and went upside down on the arch of the bridge, before running up alongside a wall. When he landed he kept himself and the Air Scooter balanced on the railing of the bridge before riding down the stair railing and shouting, "_ Oh, yeah! _"_

"Okay, here goes. _" A kid taller than Aang said before forming the scooter in his hands. Then placing the Air Scooter on the ground, the kid jumped on. But something went wrong as he landed on his rear and was spun around really fast while shouting, "_ Whoa… whoa… whoa…!

"Ugh! _" Was the noise he made when he fell off. Aang jumped off his Air Scooter and it disappeared as he checked on his friend. He offered a piece of advice with an encouraging smile, "_ You kind of have to balance on it like it's a top. _"_

"Man, that's hard. _" The kid admitted sitting up and placing a hand on the side of his head. Another kid came up to Aang and tugged on his sleeve before asking, "_ Where'd you learn that trick, Aang? _"_

"I made it up. _" The young Airbender said with a shrug and a smile. The smaller boy was impressed as he spun and shouted, "_ Wow! _"_

"Aang, _" Monk Gyatso said, making all the young ones look to him and the other four elders. Then Aang's mentor said, "_ come with us. We need to speak with you. _"_

 _Aang looked to his friends before willingly coming. He felt as if he were in some sort of trouble._

x

 **Southern Air Temple inner chamber**

"How do you know it's me? _" Aang asked when they told him the news. Aang sat in the floor while Monk Gyatso and the other masters sat in chairs. Dour Monk explained, "_ We have known you were the Avatar for some time. _" Then removing something from his sleeve he asked, "_ Do you remember these? _"_

 _Then tossing it up into the air, the Dour Monk gave a light push with his airbending. The rolled up item fell before Aang and unrolled to reveal four item; toys. Each item was a different toy: a small plush turtle, a pull string copter, a wooden hog monkey and a little drum with an orange and yellow swirl with two beads attached by string. Aang looked in happiness as he said, "_ Those were some of my favorite toys when I was little! _"_

 _While he picked the pull string copter, the Dour Monk said, "_ You chose them from among thousands of toys, Aang. _"_

 _Aang gave the monk a confused look as he said, "_ The toys you picked were the four Avatar relics. These items belonged to Avatar's past- your own past lives. _"_

"I just chose them because they seemed fun. _" Aang admitted before pulling the string. It whizzed by and was watched by Monk Gyatso as Dour monk said, "_ You chose them because they were familiar. _"_

"Normally, we would have told you of your identity when you turned sixteen, _" Monk Gyatso said. But he sounded distressed when he said, "_ but there are troubling signs. Storm clouds are gathering."

 _Aang gave a questioning look before the Senior Monk said, "_ I fear that war may be upon us, young Avatar. _"_

"We need you, Aang. _" Monk Gyatso said. This caused Aang to really think._

(End of flashback one)

X

 **Prince Zuko's ship**

Prince Zuko's ship was caught in the downpour of the storm as it continued to sail. Down in a section of the ship, the lieutenant took a drink of tea before complaining, "I'm sick of taking his orders. I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!" Then the lieutenant questioned about the prince's attitude to a few other crewman, "I mean, who does Zuko think he is?"

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh's voice spoke up from the railing at a higher level. The general moved within view with the Winter Soldier right behind him. The lieutenant was quick to stand up and tried to explain himself, "General Iroh, we were just…"

General Iroh quickly raised a hand to stop him and said, "It's okay." Then he asked, "May we join you?"

The lieutenant had no ill will about the general joining him, but he looked at the Winter Soldier and had his doubts. But the lieutenant said, "Of course, sir."

Both men walked down the steps and sat down around the fire. The Winter Soldier removed his mouth guard and placed it on the floor next to his seat. Stroking his small beard, Iroh told them, "Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man." The crew and the Winter Soldier looked to him as he said, "He has been through much."

x

 **(Flashback, two years ago)**

 _In the Fire Lord's place, walking through the halls, a younger and not scarred Prince Zuko came down a path that led to the war room. But when he moved to go inside, a masked Firebender stepped in his way. Prince Zuko found this outrageous and demanded, "_ Let me in! _"_

 _A younger General Iroh came up behind him and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder and asked, "_ Prince Zuko, what's wrong? _"_

"I want to go into the war chamber, _" Prince Zuko said. Then gesturing to the guard he said, "_ but the guard won't let me pass! _"_

 _General Iroh led his nephew away from the war chamber while saying, "_ You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring. _"_

"If I'm going to rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can? _" Prince Zuko pointed out. General Iroh knew that his nephew had a point and said, "_ Very well. _" But then he warned, "_ But you must promise not to speak. _" He sort of had a grimace as he said, "_ These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know. _"_

"Thank you, Uncle. _" Prince Zuko said with a bow. Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder as the two of them walked in together._

 **Ten minutes into the war meeting…**

 _The Fire Lord remained unseen as he sat on his thrown surrounded by flames. Everyone in the meeting listened closely as a general reported,_ "The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here," _He pointed to spot on the map,_ "a dangerous battalion, their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors. _" Then he told them of his plan, "_ So, I am recommending the Forty-first division. _" Then he slide the Fire Nation pawn towards three Earth Kingdom pawns._

"But the forty-first is entirely new recruits. _" Another member of the meeting questioned, "_ How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion? _"_

"I don't. _" The general revealed. He sounded sinister as he said, "_ They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat? _"_

"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! _" Prince Zuko angrily said standing up. He tried to speak to their hearts by saying, "_ Those soldiers love and defend our nation." _Then he glared as he questioned, "_ How can you betray them?! _"_

 _Mostly everyone in the war room looked to the prince with silent looks._

(End of flashback One)

x

All five men looked to the general as he said, "Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were dire consequences."

He hung his head as he remembered what happened.

x

 **Storytelling Cave**

Katara was a little confused when she asked, "So you were upset that you the Avatar?"

"I guess some positions are more easy to accept than others." Steve said, thinking about Thor's place in Asgard. Katara poked the fire before asking, "Why wouldn't you be excited about it?"

"Well…" Aang stared to say. Then he honestly admitted while hanging his head, "I didn't know how to feel about it." Then he looked up and said, "All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing."

x

(Flashback)

 **Air Temple courtyard**

 _The other young Airbenders were laughing as they mastered how to do the Air Scooters. Aang walked in on them and saw how well they were doing. He complimented them, "_ Hey, not bad! You guys have been practicing. _"_

"Not only that, _" Another young Airbender shouted as he went around Aang. He informed him, "_ we made up a game you can play with the Air Scooters! _"_

"Great! _" Aang shouted in excitement before creating his own Air Scooter. But everyone else released their Air Scooters before Aang could play. Aang was confused by this and asked, "_ What's going on? _"_

"Now that you're the Avatar, _" the tall kid from earlier reluctantly said, "_ it's kind of an unfair advantage for whichever team you're on. _"_

"But I'm still the same; nothing's changed. _" Aang tried to reassure them with a smile. But it faded when he asked, "_ So, what, I can't play? _"_

"That's the only fair way. _" The tall kid said. Aang dropped the Air Scooter before saying in disappointment, "_ Oh. Okay. _"_

"Sorry, Aang. _" All the Airbender kids watched him go. Then the tall kid turns and asks with a pointing thumb, "_ Okay, now who wants to have Jinju on their team? _"_

 _Standing next to the wall was an Airbender coated in dust. The kid placed a hand on his chest with an awkward laugh and felt honored as he nodded in wanting to play._

Later that day…

 _In a room somewhere in the dorms, Aang and his mentor Monk Gyatso were playing Pai Cho. Aang was still glum as he pushed a tile from one side of the board to a spot next to a lotus tile. Monk Gyatso looked at it and said, "_ Very interesting move young one. _"_

"What do you mean? _" Aang asked in confusion. Placing a hand behind his bac, Gyatso secretly airbended a silent spiral of air that arch over their heads and threw Aang's shawl over his surprised head. Then while Aang was distracted, Gyatso quickly moved the tiles. When Aang lifted the clothing, he noticed what Gyatso did and said with a smirk, "_ Hey… _"_

 _The both of them started laughing, forgetting their troubles. That was until Dour Monk from earlier opened the door. Then he questioned Gyatso, "_ You're playing games with him? _" He then said, "_ The Avatar should be training. _"_

"Aang has already trained enough for today. _" Monk Gyatso said, taking his role as a mentor seriously. But the Dour Monk acted like he knew what was best and said, "_ Time is short. _" Then gesturing Aang to follow he said, "_ Come with me, I must test you on some high-level techniques. _"_

 _Aang stood up to follow the Dour Monk, but Monk Gyatso knew what Aang needed most and said, "No." This surprised Dour Monk as Gyatso explained as a teacher, "_ As long as I am his guardian, I will decides when he trains… _" And then he threw in a fatherly note by saying, "_ and when he gets his butt kicked at Pai Cho. _"_

"Hmph! _" Dour Monk said before walking away. Aang looked to his mentor with a smile._

(End of Flashback two)

This left the three of them sitting in front of the fire thinking.

x

 **Prince Zuko's Ship**

"After Zuko's outburst in the meeting," General Iroh continued the tale, " the Fire Lord became very angry with him."

x

(Flashback)

 _In the throne room, Prince Zuko looked to his father as the Fire Lord made the flames rise higher._

(End of Flashback)

x

Iroh said as he stared into the fire, "He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect," But he became ashamed when he said, "and there was only one way to resolve this."

"Agni Kai: A fire duel." The lieutenant said in realization. General Iroh said, "That's right." But then told the rest of the tale, "Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid."

x

(Flashback, Agni Kai arena)

" **But Zuko misunderstood." Iroh said as he remembered that day.**

 _Both Prince Zuko and his opponent knelt on one knee as they mentally went over their training._

" **When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the general." Iroh told him of how the Agni Kai went.**

 _Prince Zuko turned and assumed his firebending stance as he readied himself. But it fell when he saw his opponent. His cloth slowly fell to the ground as he stared in shock at his opponent._

" **Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room," Iroh explained about who was insulted, "it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected.**

"Zuko would have to duel his own father." Iroh gravely said. _Prince Zuko's eyes turned from surprise into fear._

(End of Flashback three)

x

 **Storytelling cave**

"Then, just when I was starting to feel better, something worse happened." Aang said as he remembered what happened next.

x

(Flashback)

 _Monk Gyatso and Dour Monk had come before the Elder Monk to discuss Aang and his training._

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun. _" Monk Gyatso argued for Aang's sake. He was looking out for him as he said, "_ He needs to grow up as a normal boy. _"_

"Hmm. _" Dour Monk said before turning to his fellow monk and said, "_ You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny. _"_

"Gyatso, I know you mean well, _" The Elder Monk said. But then he said, "_ but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment. _"_

"All I want is what is best for him. _" Monk Gyatso said for Aang. But the Elder Monk knew this but felt that Aang's destiny would get nowhere, "_ But what _we need_ is what's best for the world. _" Then he made an uneasy decision, "_ You and Aang must be separated. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training. _"_

 _The declaration shocked Monk Gyatso, but it was more shocking and depressing to Aang as he listened in through a hole in the ceiling with wide eyes._

(End of Flashback)

x

The rain still poured heavily outside while the warm fire burned. Katara and Steve felt for the heartbroken Airbender as the former said, "That's awful, Aang." She tried to place a comforting hand while she said, "I don't know what to say."

But Aang moved away before she could and angrily said, "How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved."

He briefly glowed for a moment as he sent an air sphere outwards. It caused the fire to move towards the two as Katara shouted, "Whoa! Hot cinders."

Steve looked over to Aang as the boy cooled down. The Airbender looked back and regretfully said, "I'm sorry I got so mad."

"It's okay, Aang." Steve said as Aang walked back over. Katara was in agreement when she said, "You have a right to be angry, after the monks sent you away like that."

"Well, that's not exactly what happened." Aang admitted. Steve placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "We can stop if you want."

"No, I think it would be best if I told you guys." Aang said as he kept going.

x

(Flashback)

Some boys were laughing as they rode on Air Scooter while Aang watched from his room with a sad expression as he continued thinking about what was about to happen.

 **Aang:** _I was afraid, confused. I didn't know what to do._

 _Aang walked away from the window and to his bed were the toys lay. He laid down with his head in his pillow._

Later that evening…

 _Monk Gyatso walked up to Aang's door and gently knocked on the wood. But the knock opened the door with a squeak. Gyatso asked to see if he was there, "_ Aang? _" Then opening the door he stuck his head in and reassured him, "_ I'm not going to let them take you away from me. _" He didn't see Aang anywhere as he opened the door and asked, "Aang?"_

 _He found the room completely empty, save for the toys on the shelf and a tied scroll on Aang's bed. Picking up the scroll, he read it to see what was on it. He gasped in shock and horror that it said that Aang ran away before looking outside as ran fell and thunder crashed in the distance._

 **Aang:** _I never saw Gyatso again._

 _Aang rode on Appa as they flew through the storm. A flash of lightning crashed and Aang screamed as he and Appa were thrown about by the storm. Both boy and bison were sent crashing into the ocean. They came up to the surface where Appa growled as he fought against the waves. But a huge wave sent both of them back under. Aang lost his grip on the reins before using his Avatar powers with a powerful clash of his fists to create the iceberg around both him and Appa. Another flash of lightning and Aang fast forwards to the day he met them._

 **Aang:** _Next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg. Then meeting Steve after he fell out of the sky._

 _He looked up to see Katara smiling down at him._

(End of flashback)

x

"You ran away." Katara sadly said. Aang hugged his knees as he told them what they already knew, "And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple." He felt guilty as said, "My people needed me, and I wasn't there to help."

"You don't know what would've…" Katara tried to say. But Aang then added more weight to the guilt he was feeling by exclaiming, "The _world_ needed me and I wasn't there to help."

"Aang…" Katara said. Aang then said, "The fisherman was right." He looked away as he practically scolded himself, "I _did_ turn my back on the world."

"Come on, kid." Steve said. He looked to Aang and gave the only piece of advice he had on his mind, "You need to look on the bright side."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Katara said to comfort him. Then she tried to comfortingly add, "Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be."

He gave her a questionable look before she explained, "If you had stayed, you would've been killed along with all the other Airbenders."

"You don't know that." Aang said, not looking at his friends. Steve huffed and said, "Maybe not." Both kids looked up to him as he walked over to Aang, sat down and said, "But none of really know what might have happened, and we won't ever really." Then placing a hand on Aang's shoulder he said, "But I'll let you in on a little secret. I've basically let my world down while I was gone."

Both the Air and Waterbender looked to him in shock as Aang asked, 'How did you let your world down?"

"Remember how I told you that I too had been frozen in ice?" Steve asked to see if they remember. They nodded as they remembered. Then Steve told them, "Well, you see, while I was under, the organization known as Hydra had been secretly growing, even after their defeat." Then looking between the two he said, "So you see things happened that I couldn't control or do anything about for a long time. But we can always make up for it."

"And I know it's meant to be this way." Katara said in confidence. She sounded encouraging as she said, "The world needs you now. You give people hope."

Aang smiled to their words and Momo chittered as he ran over to Aang. Aang patted the lemur on the back.

x

 **Prince Zuko's ship**

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy." Iroh said as he held a cup.

x

(Flashback, Agni Kai arena)

 _In the Fire Nation royal arena Fire Lord Ozai slowly walked over to his son to begin the duel. Prince Zuko was wide eyed as he tried to beg for mercy, "_ Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn. _"_

" _Y_ ou will fight for your honor. _" Fire Lord Ozai demanded as he came closer. Prince Zuko didn't want to fight his father as he bowed and kept trying to make amends, "_ I meant you no disrespect." _He looked up to his approaching father and said, "_ I am your loyal son. _"_

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko. _" The Fire Lord demanded. Prince Zuko remained determined to not fight as he said, "_ I won't fight you. _"_

"You _will_ learn respect. _" Fire Lord Ozai said as he looked down on his only son. And the father sounded harsh as a crying Zuko looked up into his father's eyes when he said, "_ And suffering will be your teacher. _"_

 _While most of those in the stands watched with grim stares, a younger Zhao and a girl smirked as they watched. Even a man with a hood watched the scene unfold. Iroh however could only look in horror before turning away._

 **General Iroh:** _I looked away._

 _Prince Zuko yelled in pain as he was blasted in the face by a wave of fire from his father._

(End of flashback)

x

General Iroh had closed his eyes as he remembered what happened. The lieutenant was shocked as he said, "I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident."

"It was no accident." Iroh assured him of that much. Then he continued, "After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight," He looked to each of the crewman who as he said, "Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."

"So that's why he's so obsessed." The lieutenant said as he thought about it. Then he deduced, "Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."

"Things will never return to normal." General Iroh told them. But then he gave a bit of a silver lining as he said, "But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope."

The Winter Soldier stood up and walked out of the room. All five men watched as the Hydra assassin ascended the stares.

When he came to his quarters, he closed the door behind him as the blue portal opened again after a long time. The Red Skull stepped back into the inside of Prince Zuko's ship and ordered as the portal closed, "Report, assassin."

"Still chasing the Avatar and his friends, I'm afraid. Though we did have them a few times, they were able to get away." The Winter Soldier said. Johann Schmidt sighed and said to him, "Perhaps we have put too much faith in the prince."

"I think we should put more faith in the kid." The Winter Soldier objected. The Red Skull raised an eyebrow to this and questioned, "How so?"

"I believe that it will be his drive to capture the Avatar is what will help us capture the Avengers." The Winter Soldier said with confidence. The leader of Hydra took a moment to ponder this before saying, "Never the less, Professor Zola has just gotten the machine ready to teleport soldiers from our world to here. And I will be placing those soldiers with the main army." Then he said, "To double the efforts of both us and the Fire Nation's success in the war."

Then raising a hand away from the Winter Soldier, he opened the portal again. Before he stepped through, he turned to the assassin and warned, "Should I find out that you helped in any escape of Captain America or his friends, I will have you placed back in the deep freeze. Understand?"

The Winter Soldier nodded in confirmation, and then the Red Skull to his leave. Once Johan Schmidt crossed over the portal closed behind him. When he knew that he was all alone, the Winter Soldier's thoughts went to the prince.

x

 **Prince Zuko's quarters**

In his bedroom, Prince Zuko sat in front of the table with his candles lit. The prince was in deep thought as he remembered his past. He remembered screaming with joy as he and another child played on a hillside. Then he remembered looking over a horizon with his uncle's hand on his back. Prince Zuko thought about when he was much happier, before he became what he was today. The sound of crashing thunder broke him from his thoughts.

On the outside of the ship, lightning crashed against the side of the ship.

x

 **Cave**

Back at the cave, all three's attention turned to the entrance when a woman shouted, "Help! Oh, please help!"

"It's the fisherman's wife." Steve realized. Katara ran to the entrance and led her inside while saying, "It's okay. You're safe."

"But my husband isn't." The fisherman's wife told her. Katara became concerned as she asked, "What do you mean? Where are Sokka and Natasha?"

"None of them have returned. They should have been back by now." The woman informed them. She sounded even more worried when she said, "And this storm is becoming a typhoon. They're caught out at sea."

"I'm going to find them." Aang said as he stood up. Katara and Steve gave him a determined look as Katara said, "We're going with you."

"I'm staying here." The fisherman's wife said and sat down. Aang, Steve, Katara and Appa soon stood at the entrance of the cave. Aang looked to the fisherman's wife and said, "We'll be back soon, I promise."

"And we'll have all three with us." Steve said confidently.

Appa growled as all three boarded and took off into the storm.

x

 **Prince Zuko's Ship**

The ship struggled to keep itself afloat as it sailed through the storm. Mostly everyone was on deck, searching for wherever the lightning struck. As the ship bobbed up and down, Prince Zuko shouted to the lieutenant, "Where were we hit?"

"I don't know." The older man said. General Iroh came up to them and pointed to the top of the ship, "Look!"

Zuko, the lieutenant and the Winter Soldier looked up to see a man hanging for life on the railing. Prince Zuko shouted in fear, "The helmsman."

The metal creaked as the ship went through the raging storm. Prince Zuko and the lieutenant quickly climbed up the rungs to reach the helmsman. The ship continued to creak and groan as it swayed on the water. Iroh looked about until he had a certain feeling. Then as a bolt of lightning crashed towards the deck, he stuck two fingers in the air. The Winter Soldier watched in awe as Iroh's fingers caught the lightning and the older man redirected it away from the ship. The natural electricity crashed into the raging water. The Winter Soldier walked up to a comically singed Iroh and gently placed a mechanical finger to his frizzled hair.

The ship rose with a wave and caused the helmsman to lose his grip. He yelled as he fell, but a hand quickly stopped the man from falling. Prince Zuko gently lowered the helmsman to the lieutenant. The lieutenant gives a grateful smile to the prince who gave one back. Thunder continued to rumble as the storm raged.

x

Waves slapped the surface of the ocean as Appa flew through the storm. All three of them looked for any signs of the ship. Katara questioned when she couldn't see anything, "Where are they?"

They soon watched in shock as a giant wave came barreling towards them. Aang lifted the reins and shouted, "Come on, Appa."

The bison growled as he tried to climb higher above the waves. All three were in shock when it seemed that the wave would hit them. But Aang's face became serious as they tried to climb. Then picking up his staff, Aang twirled it fast to where he could drill through the water. They came out the other side as they climbed higher into the air. Aang soon saw the ship as it was rocked by the aggressive sea and shouted, 'The boat!" Then he pointed, "There!"

Unbeknownst to the group, they passed directly over Prince Zuko's ship. The prince and his crew stared in surprise as Zuko shouted, "The Avatar!"

"What do you want to do, sir?" The lieutenant asked. Prince Zuko wanted to go after the Avatar, but he knew what was important at the moment. Turning his head to the lieutenant he ordered, "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety."

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm." Iroh said with a smirk. The ship then turned towards its new destination.

The fisherman's boat was violently thrown over the waves as it tried to stay afloat. Sokka, Natasha and the fisherman held on to some mooring ropes. The Water Tribe teen was truly scared as he said, "I'm too young to die."

"I'm not, but I still don't want to." The fisherman said in agreement. Then jabbing a finger to Nat he added, "And she's way too pretty to die."

"Thanks, I guess." Natasha said as she found it a little awkward.

Appa growled as he flew to the ship. The bison circled around and Aang quickly jumped off before running to them. A flash of lightning struck the mast causing it to fall over. Aang gasped before acting quickly by throwing his arms up to raise three water spouts. The water cut through the wood and made it divide right before it landed on the three. Both Sokka and the fisherman clung to Natasha when both sides hit the deck. As Aang came up to the three, Sokka quickly tied it around his, Nat's and the fisherman's waist. Aang then told them, "Hang on to the rope."

Then taking one end, he ran to where he was under Appa and then jumped back onto the bison. Aang held the end of the rope to Steve and they along with Katara held on tight as Appa pulled the three to safety. All three yelled as they flew through the air and landed in the saddle. They landed with a grunt on their backsides. Sokka and Natasha both had smiles to be alive while the fisherman spit out a stream of water before joining their smiles. But those smiles faded when they looked behind them to see a wave carrying the boat rise high over the bison. Appa tried to outfly the wave, but he and all his passengers were caught in it. All seven of them sank below the waves. As he lost his grip, Aang looked to see the same scene happening again, only this time more than him and Appa were on the line. He stared to see Steve, Sokka, Natasha, the fisherman and Katara all trying to hang on. Not wanting them to die, Aang quickly grabbed onto the reins as his Airbender tattoos glowed again. Then doing what he once did one hundred years ago, he slammed his fists against each other and formed a giant air sphere around them. When it completely surrounded them everyone else fell into the saddle as Appa made a U-turn towards the surface.

Prince Zuko's ship had just reached the eye of the storm, a spot in the rain and rough spots that were much calmer than anywhere else. As the rain lightened around the ship, Prince Zuko bowed his head and humbly said to Iroh, "Uncle, I'm sorry."

"Your apology is accepted." Iroh graciously said as he placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Then he turned to take his leave, then Prince Zuko found himself in the presence of the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier gave him a nod of approval. Then something tremendous happened on the port side of the ship as the Avatar's bison burst out of the water. Aang looked down to see Prince Zuko looking up at him. Steve also looked to the Fire Nation ship and saw Bucky standing next to the prince.

But neither side did anything to one or the other as Appa flew up and away through the eye.

x

When the group had returned to the cave, the fisherman's wife was happy to see her husband. Appa stood outside the cave as she ran up to him and happily said, "Oh, you're alive!"

They embraced as they were happy to see each other. Then she became serious and told her husband by pointing at Aang, "You owe this boy an apology."

"He doesn't have to apologize." Aang said, trying to be humble about it. The fisherman then offered, "Well, what if instead of an apology, I give him a free fish, and we call it even?"

"Actually, I don't eat meat." Aang politely declined. This confused the fisherman as he said, "Fish ain't meat."

Sokka walked up to the fisherman and asked, "Seriously, you're still going to pay us, right?"

He closed his eyes and held out his hand. His payment was rewarded with a fish put into his hand. He blushed when he felt something wet and scaly in his hand. When he looked at it he screamed in fright. While his wife scolded her and Sokka tried to not feel sick by the fish, Aang walked over to Katara and the Avenger and said, "Katara, Steve, I think you were both right before. I'm done dwelling on the past."

"Really?" Katara asked as Sokka slumped his shoulders. Aang was sure as he looked down and said, "I can't make guesses about how things would've turned out if I hadn't run away." Then he looked to his friends and said, "I'm here now, and I'm going to make the most of it."

"I don't think you're going to have those nightmares anymore." Katara said with a confident smile. Steve had one as well as he added in support, "And remember that we're here for you when you need help."

"If you weren't here now," The fisherman said as he came up and placed a hand on Aang's shoulder as he thought about, "well, I guess I wouldn't be, either." Then he gratefully said, "Thank you for saving my life, Avatar."

Aang looked down as he felt good about doing something for someone else. Sokka walked near the entrance and said, "Do you hear that?" He had a smile as he looked to everyone and said, "It stopped raining."

The birds started to sing as the sun began to shine through the clouds. The kids, the Avengers, Appa and the fisherman and woman all came out to enjoy the beauty. But the moment was ruined when Appa growled and shook the water off of him and onto them, making them huddle up and groan and Aang shouted, "Appa!"

"Not cool, Appa!" Natasha said with a slight glare.

x

 **Fire Nation palace**

In the hallway before the Fire Lord's throne room, the blue portal opened up and Johann Schmidt stepped through for it to close behind him. Two masked Firebenders were posted in front of the flaps into the throne room. When the Winter Soldier stepped up to them, one Firebender stopped him with a hand and said, "Please, state your business."

"I am here to discuss important matters with Fire Lord Ozai." The Red Skull answered. But before either Firebender could say anything, a voice from inside the throne room said, "Let him pass."

Both Firebenders didn't hesitate and stood aside for Johann Schmidt. The leader of Hydra nodded to them before stepping through the flaps. He kept a calm face as he walked towards the throne. He stopped when he was a good seven feet away from the blazing throne and the shadowy figure behind the flames. The Fire Lord then said, "Johann Schmidt, what a surprise. I assume you have news to report?"

"I do, actually." Johann Schmidt said as he stared up at the Fire Lord. Then he reported, "My top scientist has fixed the machine well enough to where it can send the soldiers of Hydra. From there, they can become integrated with the soldiers of the Fire Nation and help fight on the frontlines."

"And how long will it take for your weapons to come through?" The Fire Lord questioned. Johann kept himself calm before answering, "Not as soon as we were hoping, but they will arrive by the summer, I assure you."

The Fire Lord sighed before saying, "Very well, I will be patient as I honor the agreement between you and my father."

"Thank you, your majesty." The Red Skull said with a bow. Then turning on his heel he left the throne room. But before he could go through the flaps, the Fire Lord called after him, "And Johann."

Schmidt turned around and said, "Yes, Fire Lord Ozai."

"Send your first few coming soldiers to a man that I plan on promoting." The Fire Lord said. Johann Schmidt nodded and then asked, "And who is this man that I must seek."

The Fire Lord Ozai spoke two words of the name, "Commander Zhao."

"Commander Zhao." The Red Skull said to himself to remember the name. Then he looked to the Fire Lord and said, "It shall be done."

Then without another word, Hydra's most infamous leader walked out of the throne room to handle the task.

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: And now I have added a more serious threat to the Bending world. Hydra is coming to aid the Fire Nation in the war. I must tell you that after this chapter I will be taking a break from Avenging Avatar, but don't worry I will be back. I just have a few other fanfics that I want to get done, like Dragon Ball Super GT and others like I said at the beginning of the chapter here. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	13. Chapter 13: The Blue Spirit

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. This is another redo of the chapter. But in this redo, it will be the one to stay and it will be a combination of both attempts. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Prince Zuko, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier had just come off of the damaged ship. Prince Zuko sounded a little desperate as he said, "I want to make the repairs as quickly as possible, I don't want to lose his trail."_

" _You mean the Avatar's?" Iroh asked. Prince Zuko turned to him and warned, "Don't mention his name on these docks. Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way."_

" _Getting in the way of what?" Another voice questioned. All three men turned to see a Fire Nation officer walk up them as he asked, "Prince Zuko?"_

" _Captain Zhao." Prince Zuko said with crossed arms. Zhao had a smirk on his face as he corrected him, "It's commander now."_

" _No home, no allies." Zhao states as he looks down on the prince before adding the topper, "Your own father doesn't even want you."_

" _Bucky." Cap said as he saw his friend on Kyoshi Island._

" _There's a storm coming." A fisherman's wife tried to tell her husband. Aang's eyes grew wide as she said, "A bad one."_

" _Storm clouds are gathering." Monk Gyatso says during telling Aang that he was the Avatar._

" _I'm done dwelling on the past." Aang said as he came to terms with what happened._

x

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **The Red and Blue Spirits**

Somewhere along the coast of the colonized Earth Kingdom, a messenger hawk made its way over the ocean towards a Fire Nation fortress. It screeched as it veered right before moving to the left again. At least three guards were posted at the battlements with more patrolling each wall from the main building.

Within one of the walls, a group of ten archers with one with its back turned practice their skills as the lead archer removed one from his quiver. With deadly precision and accuracy, the archer let loose three arrows. Each arrow hit the target in the center, with the following arrow slicing through the one before. While the four in front joined the first archer, they were being watched from above by two officers with their hands behind their backs.

"Absolutely not." The man next to Commander Zhao said. He stated firmly, "The Yu Yan archers stay here." He didn't have any sympathetic emotions as he said, "Your request is denied, Commander Zhao."

"Colonel Shinu, please reconsider." Commander Zhao said with a glance to his superior. Then he retold of their skills, "Their precision is legendary.

"The Yu Yan can pin a fly to a tree from one hundred yards away…" He said as an archer drew back four arrows. The archer took his time aiming as the Commander finished, "without killing it."

The archer then released all four, and each arrow hit a target dead center. Zhao was a little bold as he turned to the Colonel and said, "You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."

Colonel Shinu didn't take it too kindly as he looked to Commander Zhao and stated his position, "I can do whatever I want with their talents. They're my archers, and what I say goes."

"But my search for the Avatar is…" Commander Zhao began to say, but Colonel Shinu stepped up to the taller man and cut him off, "Is nothing but a vanity project.

"We're fighting a real war here and I need every man I've got," Shinu then said with a scorn, "Commander."

"But…" Commander Zhao tried to say, but the Colonel wouldn't hear any more of it, "That's final. I don't want to hear another word about it."

Commander Zhao scowled with an angry grunt at being denied.

" _Oh, you will not have to worry about man power for long, Colonel._ " A disembodied voice said, frightening both men. Then a blue flash of light caused both men to turn around as a vortex opened up in the battlement. Both Commander and Colonel's eyes were wide as the Red Skull stepped before them with the portal closing behind him. Both Fire Nation officers bowed in respect to their ally as the Colonel then said, "Johann Schmidt, honored leader of our allies from Hydra. It is an honor to have you at our fortress."

"At ease, the both of you." The Red Skull said. Zhao and Shinu then stood tall as the Commander then asked, "With permission to ask, sir, what brings you here?"

Johann Schmidt chuckled as he walked past them to observe the Yu Yan archers. As another archer hit the target dead center again, the leader of Hydra then said, "On my way here, I couldn't help but over hear your conversation through space. And I believe that you both have made good points. And that is why I am here to give the both of you good news."

He turned his head to a spot behind the archers and held up his hand. Both Fire Nation officer's eyes grew wide as a blue vortex opened up behind them. The Yu Yan archers looked back to see a single file line of soldiers joining them on the fortress grounds. Each soldier was dressed in a suit of armor that was designed in the same fashion as most of the Fire Nation army. The only difference in the two was that the Hydra soldiers wore helmets fashioned from the World War Two era, and on the chest plate was the trademark insignia of Hydra, not to mention the huge blasters they carried in their hands. The Red Skull looked to the Colonel and said, "I am giving you at least forty Hydra soldiers. The rest will need to be taken to other locations in the colonies along the Earth Kingdom."

When the final two Hydra soldiers stepped through the portal, Johann Schmidt stopped using his powers. Turning back to the two gentlemen with him he said, "Of course, and as I had explained to his majesty, after using much of the Tesseracts power, I will be out of commission for a small while."

"We understand, sir." Colonel Shinu said with a bow. Commander Zhao then said, "What news do you have for me, sir? Does it have to do something with the Avatar?"

"In a way it does." The Red Skull said with a smirk. He raised his head when he heard a caw coming from outside the fortress. All three men looked out to see a messenger hawk land. The Colonel allowed the bird to land on his arm and was about to reach for the parchment in its pack when Johann Schmidt said, "I doubt you will like what you learn."

Colonel Shinu gave the red skulled man an odd glance before proceeding. He removed the message from the pack while making the hawk jump onto the battlement. As he read it, Shinu's eyes grew wide with surprise, making Zhao interested as he walked up behind the Colonel and asked, "News from Fire Lord Ozai?" He took a quick glance at the Red Skull and asked, "Is it good?"

"You tell me." Johann Schmidt said with his smirk intact. Commander Zhao takes the parchment from the Colonel and looked down at it, and a smirk formed on his face as he stated, "It appears I've been promoted to admiral."

His smirk remained as he turned to the Colonel and said, "My request is now an order."

Colonel Shinu bowed to his new superior before walking down the stairs. The new admiral walked back over to where he could view the archers and the newly acquired Hydra soldiers. The Red Skull raises his hand once more to open another portal. He looked to Admiral Zhao and said, "Happy hunting to you, Admiral Zhao."

Zhao smirked over at Johann Schmidt before looking down as the archers returned to their practice. The Red Skull then took his leave without another word. But up on top of the battlement's cover, the three men had been unaware that their conversation had been listened on. Two men dressed in black, one with a sword strapped to his back and the other with rifle on his own. And both men wore a mask, one red and the other blue. And both of the masks were decorated with the face of an angry spirit.

The two masked spirits slowly backed away when they had all the information they needed to know.

x

In another part of the Earth Kingdom, dark clouds rolled over an abandoned city built into the side of a mountain. Even from the bottom of the mountain city, a loud cough could be heard. Inside their hiding place somewhere within the city, Sokka laid against Appa's side as he tried to fight off a sickness that was taking its toll on his body.

Aang, Steve and Natasha backed away as Sokka went into another coughing fit. Katara remained by her brother's side as she came closer and placed a wet rag on his forehead while saying, "This should bring your fever down."

"Poor Sokka." Nat muttered as she looked down on the Water Tribe Teen. Steve nodded in agreement, silently thankful that the super soldier serum kept him healthy.

Sokka trembled from his illness, but he smiled as he nasally said, "You know what I love about Appa the most?" He looked at the bison's head and said, "His sense of humor."

"That's nice. I'll tell him." Katara said. Appa growled in acknowledgment to his words. Thinking that it had been a joke, Sokka started to chuckle and then said, "Classic Appa."

Aang walked back over with staff and a scroll in hand and asked, "How's Sokka doing, guys?"

"Not so good." Katara admitted. Natasha was in full agreement and said, "The poor kid looks like a dog after a really hot bath."

Steve gave her an odd look but chose not to question her words. Weirded out herself, Katara then said, "Being out in that storm really did a number on him."

"Makes me wonder if the old man that was with you is in bed as well." Steve wondered out loud. Sokka continued to shudder and then sucked a trail of snot back in. All four of his friends looked down at him in worry while Aang said, "I couldn't find any gingerroot for the tea," But then he held up the scroll and said, "but I found a map."

Kneeling down with the two Avengers joining him the young airbender said, "There's an herbalists' institute on the top of that mountain."

The three of them looked to a far mountain as dark clouds kept rolling by. Aang then suggested, "We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

"Aang, he's in no condition to travel." Katara argued about her brother. She then said, "Sokka just needs more rest."

"And I do agree with that." Steve said as he stood up from looking down at the map. He then pointed out, "Moving him around might make him worse."

"I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." Katara said with a smile. Katara then started to cough, and by the sound and length of it, it sounded terrible. The other three backed away to prevent her from coughing on them. Each looked really worried as Aang said in distress, "Not you too."

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi…" Katara said with a wave as if to shrug it off. But she was proven wrong as she had a major coughing fit. She groaned as she fully acknowledged that she was indeed sick. Aang had shielded himself to avoid being coughed on, and when he lowered his arm, he reminisced about the first of the ill, "That's how Sokka started yesterday." Then he turned to the sick teen and said, "Now look at him, he thinks he's an Earthbender."

"Take that, you rock!" The sick Sokka shouted while trying to punch at an imaginary rock before slumping with his arms crossed. Aang looked to Katara and said, "A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too."

Standing up, Aang, Steve and Natasha stood up as the Avatar stated, "We're going to find some medicine."

He stood up and was about to head out when Natasha let out a huge sneeze. Aang and Steve looked to the spy with a raised eyebrow. She then got defensive by saying, "What? It was only one little sneeze. It's nothing to make a fuss about."

Then she took a deep breath before letting out a storm of coughs. Aang quickly backed up to Steve's side as Natasha covered her mouth. When she looked back up to the two healthy boys, Steve pointed with a finger at Appa. Natasha slumped her shoulders as she knew that it meant that she should rest. The red haired spy walked over with her shoulders sagging to the only unoccupied bison leg. Natasha laid down as Steve turned to Aang and said, "Let's go see this herbalist."

"Wait," Aang interjected. This stopped Steve from moving as the young Airbender said, "Maybe one of us should stay behind." He pointed out as he looked to their sick friends, "With most of us being sick, it would probably do them some good to have someone watch over them."

"I do see your point in this, Aang. But I don't think it's such idea letting you go out there alone." Steve firmly said. Then he pointed out, "Besides, if anything should happen, and thanks to her training, Nat might just be able to defend Sokka and Katara from any hostiles that may find them even if she isn't feeling well."

"But I was planning on using my glider to get there." Aang said to make a point. Steve smirked as he said, "I can still use my super speed to keep up."

Aang let out a sigh as he knew he shouldn't argue with the super soldier and said, "All right, if you're sure."

"Positive, kid." Steve reassured him. The two then walked towards the entrance, but as Aang opened up his glider, a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky followed by a boom of thunder. This made Aang rethink his earlier statement and said, "Uh… I think it'll be safer if I go on foot, too."

"I think that would be best." Steve agreed as Aang closed the glider. Then he said, "I starting to think that it might be safer if I left my shield here as well."

He quickly removed the shield off of his back and placed it down against the column along with his helmet. Aang placed his staff next to the shield and looked back to their sick friends. He told the bison and lemur, "Keep an eye on them, guys."

"We'll be back, you two." Steve assured. Appa growled with a chittering Momo clinging to his horn. Sokka, thinking that it was a joke, cackled at the supposed humor before saying, "You guys are killing me!"

"Keep laughing like that and I will kill you!" Natasha warned. Aang and Steve gave one last glance to their friends. Then nodding to each other, Aang used his airbending to jump high into the air. Steve then took a few running steps before leaping after the Avatar.

As they fell, Aang used his airbending to slow his descent while Steve plummeted down to the ground. The super soldier crashed at the bottom of the mountain and stood to wait for his companion. Once Aang had touched down next to him, they took off running at their top speeds. As the two ran, their super speeds created huge dust clouds behind them.

x

Somewhere along the Earth Kingdom's coast, Prince Zuko's ship sailed through the calm waters. Inside the cabin at the top of the ship's tower, the aforementioned prince and the Winter Soldier looked over the Lieutenant's shoulder as he reported, "We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm." He placed a finger on the map as they planned, "But if we continue heading northeast…"

He was cut off when a large shadow blocked what sun light was visible. It surprised all whom were present in the cabin. This agitated Prince Zuko as he questioned, "What do they want?"

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho." His uncle eagerly said as he rubbed his hands together. The Winter Soldier looked to the older man and said, 'Somehow, I highly doubt that, sir."

This caused Iroh to pout for a moment, but then he shrugged it off as he continued to play.

A few minutes later…

The larger Fire Navy ship had docked two ramps down to Prince Zuko's ship. And a few minutes later, a Fire Navy captain unrolled a scroll to reveal a wanted poster of Aang. The two Hydra soldiers accompanying them unrolled two more wanted posters of both Captain America and Natasha. The captain then told Prince Zuko, "The hunt for the Avatar and the Avengers has been given prime importance. All information regarding the Avatar or the Avengers must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao."

"Zhao has been promoted?" Iroh asked as the Fire Navy captain and the Hydra soldiers put the scrolls away. Then he slid a piece across the board as he said, "Well, good for him."

A player and a bystander noticed the move Iroh made and the bystander had a depressed look on his face as the player facepalmed. All the while as Iroh had a smirk on his face. Prince Zuko was looking down to the side while having his arms crossed and said, "I've got nothing to report to Zhao." He looked to the group of five and demanded, "Now get off my ship and let us pass."

"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area." The captain said. This seemed to infuriate Prince Zuko as he ordered, "Off my ship!"

The two Hydra soldiers, not liking Zuko's tone, took a step forward. But the Winter Soldier stepped forward as well with a glare to the two soldiers. This caused the five to turn and depart the ship.

As they left, Iroh happily exclaimed, "Excellent. I take the pot."

The tiles were stacked like poker chips as Iroh leaned forward and took them. This caused the group of three to look depressed while the bystander punched the side of his head. But being a good sport, Iroh offered them some encouraging words, "But you're all improving. I'm certain you will win if we play again."

The crew seemed interested as they reset the board to play again. The Winter Soldier looked to the prince as Zuko stared out the window.

x

Along a rocky trail on the side of a mountain, two Fire Nation scouts were keeping a lookout for any passerby. One of the scouts looked through a telescope while the other read from the wanted poster. He read from the scroll aloud, "Says here that the Avatar can create tornadoes and run faster than the wind. It also says that the one called Captain America carries a strong shield while the spy is able to use her wits and skills to take down her enemies." He was a little impressed as he lowered the poster and looked over to his partner and said, "Pretty amazing."

"Ah, that's just a bunch of Fire Lord propaganda." The scout with the telescope said. He looked back to the other scout and said, "There's no way that's true."

He then turned to look back through the telescope just as two dust clouds ran down it. The scout looking through the telescope looked truly surprised as Aang's speed caused the little tree hut to be obliterated. Then he lifted a horn up to his lips and blew hard to signal anyone who could hear him.

x

The three sick friends tried to get some rest as they waited for Aang and Steve to come back. While the girls tried to rest, Sokka looked to his sister, weakly said, "Katara, please… water."

Katara weakly looked over to the sleeping Momo next to her. Then she leaned on one arm as she said, "Listen carefully, Momo." She held up the water pouch and said, "I need you to take this to river and fill with water."

Momo tried to listen, but all he was really hearing was Katara speaking in some kind of gibberish while moving her hand in certain ways. Then she asked, "Got it?"

Momo purred, making it sound like he understood, and Katara held out the water pouch to him. The flying lemur then took it in his back feet and flew out of the hiding spot.

Katara sighed while watching him go. And just when she was about to go back to sleeping, she heard Nat say, "You do realize that you tried to give instructions to a lemur, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Katara asked. Natasha shrugged and said, "Because this might not go the way you want it to."

Katara, sighed in annoyance before closing her eyes again.

x

Aang and Steve had finally ran to the far mountain. They stopped a moment to look up the steps to the top. Without hesitation, the two began the long climb. They panted from the exertion as they continued to climb. When both the Airbender and the super soldier reached the top, they stood before a gateway before the institute. They ran to the closet building and inside they found themselves in an herb garden.

A white cat meowed before moving out of their way and jumped on a table with an old woman at the end. Both Aang and Steve slowed down as they made their way over to her. The woman wore faded green Earth Kingdom robes and had a twig in the bun of her hair. Aang quickly told her, "Hello! We're sorry to barge in like this, but we need some medicine for our friends." He became frantic as he described the symptoms as she stirred something in a bowl, "They have fevers, and they've been coughing, and…"

"Aang, slow down. It's not going to help the others if you can't speak clearly." Steve said and placed a hand on his shoulder. The woman looked to them and said, "He's right, young man. Your friends are going to be fine.

"I've been up here for over forty years, you know." She told them a little about her history. The seemed sad as she said, "Used to be others, but they all left years ago." She reached her hand to the purring cat and said, "Now it's just me and Miyuki."

Aang looked a little bored, but was still polite enough to say with a raised eyebrow, "That's nice."

"I'm sorry that you and Miyuki are up here by yourselves." Steve kindly said. But the herbalist said, "Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and gain." She stirred the bowl again and said with a smile, "Such brave boys. And thanks to my remedies, they always leave in better shape than when they arrive."

She then looked to Steve and said, "But your words are much appreciated."

"That's nice; are you almost done?" Aang asked, still trying to be polite while also feeling the need to hurry. Steve looked to the Airbender and nudged his arm while saying, "Aang."

"Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient." The herbalist said as she moved to many plants. Then she looked amongst the greens as she said, "No… sandalwood…" She shook her head and kept searching, "Oh, let's… no, that won't do." Then she made a guess, "Banana leaf and… nope."

Aang's face fell and an eye twitched in impatient as she continued to look for the plant, "Gingerroot, uh-uh.

"Oh, where is that pesky little plant?" The herbalist questioned as she took her time. This made Aang groan and facepalm while Steve just stood there and watched the herbalist. He looked to Aang and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure our friends are doing fine."

"Hopefully." Aang said as he continued to think about them. Then a question popped into his head and asked, "I do have question?"

"Okay." Steve said. Aang then asked, "How come you left your shield back at your hideout?"

"I think it's because most metals attract lightning." Steve guessed. Then he shrugged as he said, "It's a science thing really."

x

The sun was beginning to set as Prince Zuko's ship sailed under the cloudy sky. The prince himself was on the deck and practiced his firebending techniques to relieve himself of the stress. He started with a fire punch. Then turned as he went with an overhead wave of fire, and then followed by a diagonal fire flow, a fire palm and a low fire punch. Then he turned the opposite direction with another fire punch and finished with a high fire kick.

"Is everything okay?" Iroh asked as stood there with his hands in his sleeves. He seemed concerned for Zuko as he said, "It's been almost an hour, and you haven't given the men an order."

"I don't care what they do." Prince Zuko snapped at Iroh before turning away.

"Don't give up hope yet." Iroh tried to elevate his nephew's spirits. The tried to reassure him by saying, "With the Winter Soldier by your side, you can still find the Avatar or the two Avengers before Zhao."

"How, Uncle?" Prince Zuko questioned in despair as he turned to face his uncle. He looked at the odds against him by saying, "With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar or the Avengers.

"My honor, my throne, my country-" Prince Zuko thought about it if Zhao beats him. He turned to face the sea as he said, "I'm about to lose them all."

The Winter Soldier stood in the doorway, listening to their conversation.

x

The sun had nearly set over the herbalist institute. Inside the floral garden, Aang was slumped over a table with his head in his hands, Steve continued to watch the herbalist and the herbalist stood in front of a plate.

"Oh, here's what I was looking for…" Chuckling as she reached for a flower and said, "Plum blossom."

"Finally." Aang said as he stood straight. Steve looked to the young Airbender and asked, "Didn't the monks teach you about patience?"

Aang looked guilty and said, "They did, and I'm sorry if I was impatient."

"Eh, no worries." Steve said as the herbalist walked over it. The woman had just dropped the flower into the bowl when Aang suddenly grabbed it and said, "Thanks for all your help."

"Aang?" Steve said with a questionable look. The woman didn't like it as she smacked his hand with the spoon and said, "Hands off!"

"Ow!" Aang shouted as he backed away. The woman glared at the boy and questioned, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking the cure to my friends." Aang responded as an eyebrow twitched. Steve then asked Aang, "Wouldn't she have needed to mix the flower with rest of it?"

The old woman started laughing as she said, "This isn't a cure." Then setting the bowl down she said, "It's Miyuki's dinner." The cat started to eat while the old woman petted the cat's back and said, "Plum blossom is her favorite."

"What about our friends?" Aang asked, still having nothing to help them. The old woman had a smile as she then told them, "Well, all they need is some frozen wood frogs."

"Frogs?" Steve asked with a weirded out face. Then she told them where to find the amphibians, "There's plenty of them down in the valley swamp."

"What are we supposed to with frozen frogs?" Aang asked with a confused face. The old woman sounded crazy as she said, "Why, suck on them, of course."

"Suck on them?!" Aang and Steve questioned with grossed and weirded out faces, and the former's eye twitched. The herbalist then explained, "The frog skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends," but then she warned, "but make sure you get plenty. Once those little critters thaw out, they're useless."

Aang, Steve and the herbalist stared at each other while Miyuki ate her dinner until Aang bluntly said, "You're insane, aren't you?"

Steve then shot Aang a look, but it dropped when the herbalist said with pride, "That's right."

She turned back to her cat before noticing that neither of the boys hadn't moved. With an annoyed glare she said, "Well, don't the two of you just stand there all day. Go!"

On the word 'go' she had flung a spoon of Miyuki's dinner at them. The food splattered against Aang's face and Steve's suit. The latter wiped it off while the former blinked his eyes open in surprise before turning to leave.

They ran outside the botanic hut, but before they could go very far, four arrows sailed through the air and pinned their feet to the ground. Steve fell to his knees while Aang tried to keep his balance, "Whoa!"

The Avatar fell to his knees as well, and they both looked up when they heard the sound of more arrows whizzing towards them. Aang's eye grew wide as he watched the arrows coming towards them and then remembered that Steve didn't have his shield with him. But before the arrows could reach either of them, Aang bent an air sphere around him and Steve that deflected each arrow. The deflected arrows then scattered about across the grounds, and were imbedded in either the ground or nearby tress. Aang dropped his shield and kneeled down to remove an arrow from his shoe.

Ripping the arrow out, he then held it up to the trees and said, "Uh, I think you dropped this."

"You and I both know that's not what happened!" Steve said as he lifted his legs to rip the arrows from his shoe. The archers in the trees readied more arrows and prepared to fire again. Aang and Steve's eyes went really wide as Aang's right eyebrow twitched.

Aang kneeled down and tried to remove the second arrow from his shoe. The arrow was deep in the ground, and so it made Aang's struggle futile. Acting quickly, Steve grabbed Aang by the shoulders and pulled him back. The action ripped the arrow out of Aang's shoe just as four more arrows embedded themselves in the ground.

The two ran out of the way another incoming four. Trying to run to the gate, both the Airbender and the super soldier had to stop when four more archers with arrows at the ready revealed themselves. Using their quick reflexes, Aang and Steve jumped over the incoming arrows. When they touched down on the ground again, they gasped when three new figures joined the archers at the gate. Steve instantly knew that these were Hydra soldiers and said to himself, "This is one of those times I wish I had my shield."

Quickly turning around, Aang and Steve started to run away from the assailants and were able to avoid any of the incoming arrows. Two lines of arrows formed a trail behind them as they ran. A loud bang went off, making Aang flinch as a bolt of energy shot right past them and blew a hole through a tree. Aang grimaced in fear as Steve then took a stick on the ground and flung it at the Hydra soldiers.

They turned another direction, but had to stop when they found themselves at a cliff. Knowing that there was no other way, they jumped over. Aang yelled as they dropped down. The soldiers and archers didn't let a cliff stand between them and their prize and jumped over as well. When the two neared the tree tops at the bottom, Aang tried use his airbending to slow their fall, but they still crashed into the foliage with grunts of pain. They continued as they rolled through the treetops, they tried to shield themselves from the branches with their arms.

The falling archers aimed an arrow before releasing it at a tree. They used a rope connected to the arrows and swung down to the ground, while the Hydra soldiers pulled a cord and opened their chutes and drifted down. When they reached the ground, they continued to pursue on foot while the archers stuck to the trees.

Aang and Steve moved from tree to tree as they made their way to the ground. At a crossing in the trees, Aang saw arrows flying at them and pulled Steve out of the way before they struck. They hopped down from one tree trunk to the next before breaking through the foliage. They yelled again as they dropped to the ground and looked to find themselves by the cold murky waters of the valley swamp. They quickly made their way in the water, and Aang yelped as he lost his footing in the deeper water.

"Aang!" Steve shouted. He reached down and pulled Aang up by his hand. The young Airbender took a gasp of air before looking to Steve with a grateful smile. Letting Aang go, the two began to search for the frogs. Aang reached down in the murky water, and brought it back up when he felt something in his grasp. When he brought his hand back up, he was both surprised and happy that he had pulled up, "A frog!"

Steve looked at it with a smirk, but an arrow knocked the frozen creature out of his hand. With a gasp from both, they looked back to see that they were running out of time. They moved quickly through the swamp water, and grabbed what frogs they could find and tucked them in either a shirt or their pockets. Aang reached own and pulled up a frog right as an arrow nearly hit his hand. Steve and Aang tried to hide near an overturned log, when an arrow embedded itself in his shirt. Three more arrows pinned the rest of his arm to the tree. The Airbender became scared from this and tried to pull his arm out. Steve moved to help Aang out, when three arrows pinned his own arm to the overturned tree.

They looked in front of them and gasped when the archers standing not so far away loose more arrows. With a startled yell, Aang used his waterbending to form an ice wall to protect him and Steve. Another loud bang burst through the air, and the wall of brown ice was destroyed. The archers then released another volley of arrows that pinned Aang and Steve's free arms to the tree, making them worry. Aang yelled when they shot nets over them and looked scared as the archers and soldiers came closer to him. But what they did next really made Aang and Steve worried. They heard a light clicking sound, a smaller bang, then felt something a stinging pain in their arms. The next thing they both saw was darkness.

x

It was close to night when Aang had regained consciousness. He looked up and scowled when he saw where he was. He saw that his rams were chained to two columns with burning torches at the top and his feet chained to the floor.

And that was the least of his worries, for outside his cell, two unmasked Fire Nation soldiers and two Hydra soldiers stood guard outside. Not to mention that he was inside Admiral Zhao's three walled fortress.

x

Steve blinked his eyes open and found his arms chained to two columns and his feet chained to the floor. He looked around and saw that he was in a metal room and his only light came from two torches at the top of the columns. His arms still felt like they were under he influence of whatever drug they injected into him. But not known to be one to give up, he started pulling on the chains on his arms. He stopped when he heard footsteps coming from outside the door to his cell.

x

Aang grunted as he tried to force his chains to come off as well. But stopped when he heard the door creak open. Admiral Zhao calmly walked in with his hands behind his back. He sounded disappointed as he looked Aang over and said, "So this is the great Avatar, master of all the elements." He smiled as he said, "I see that Hydra's serum has worn off."

"Where's my friend?" Aang angrily questioned, though it went unanswered.

The admiral then became serious again as he stood in front of Aang then said as he walked around the captured Avatar, "I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but thanks with the aid of Hydra, your little game of hide-and-seek," He stopped behind Aang and gloated, "is over."

"I've never hidden from you." Aang said with a glare. Then he dared the Firebender, "Untie me, and I'll fight you right now!"

"Uh, no." Zhao said as he moved back in front of Aang, knowing better. Then he turned towards Aang and made an emotional jab at the boy, "Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left?"

He came closer and questioned with a smirk, "Do you miss your people?"

Aang tried to keep up his look of defiance, but his face fell as he started to think about them. Zhao then said, "Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were."

This made Aang look up at him with a glare. Zhao then made a point as he turned around, "See, if you die, you'll just be reborn, and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again," Admiral Zhao then looked back as he said, "so I'll keep you alive…" Then he smirked as he added, "but just barely."

In retaliation to it, Aang took in a huge breath of air and then blew really hard. The blast of wind sent Zhao flying towards the door, and with a tumble in the air the man hit his back against the metal upside down with a grunt. He fell to his knees, shook his head and rubbed the sore area on his head before saying with a scowl, "Blow all the wind you want. Your situation is futile." He then looked confided as he said while opening the door, "There is no escaping this fortress," Aang's face fell as Zhao said with a glare, "and no one, not even your friend, is coming to rescue you."

Then without another word, the admiral slammed the door behind him.

x

Steve heard the slam of a door not too far from his cell. Then he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his cell door. With a glare he watched as the door opened and Admiral Zhao walked into the room. The admiral wasn't smiling, but confidently walked up to the chained super soldier and said, "So, Captain America, I presume."

"Yes." Was all that Steve said. Then he questioned, "Where's Aang?"

"You're in no position to be demanding anything." Zhao said, getting close to his face. Then he said, "You know it's funny." He turned away from Cap as he said, "The last time I saw you, you had put up more of a decent fight. But after the Hydra soldiers reported how easy it was to capture you." The admiral started to chuckle before saying, "I guess it was more of that fancy shield that makes you great."

"You wanna see how I fight without my shield." Steve challenged. Zhao gave him the same answer he said to Aang, "I don't think so.

"I've heard some interesting things about you from what records Johann Schmidt could give us." Zhao said as he backed away. Then he made the comment, "It's said that you were frozen for nearly seventy years, and it makes me wonder," The admiral looked back with a smirk, "how you feel, knowing that practically everyone you once knew is gone."

Steve glared at him as it clearly got under his skin. But the admiral didn't stop there by saying, "And to think that the only one left in your life is withering away."

"How did you or the Red Skull know that?" Cap angrily questioned. Zhao continued to smirk and said, "Let's just say that it was inside information."

That just made Steve more angry and he tried to snap his chains with brute force. Admiral Zhao smiled at how he was able to rattle his prisoners cage. Then Cap did something he thought he would never do, and spit on the admiral's face. The action caused Zhao to flinch back, and then taking a hand he wiped off his face. Then with a growl, he smacked Cap in his face. Cap looked back at the admiral as the Firebender turned to leave.

Then without another word he turned and left the room.

x

Back at the mountain ruins, the sick continued to cough. Appa was currently sleeping. When he was able to stop coughing, Sokka then begged, "Water."

"I could go for some water. Nice cool water." Natasha said with a blissful smile. Katara tried to keep their spirits up by saying, "Momo should be back any minute."

Said lemur came cooing in as he flew in. But he didn't have the water pouch with him. Instead he had a dead field mouse and held it before Katara. Then he placed it on her belly, making her groan and grimace from it. Katara then said, "No, Momo. Water." Then she said it slowly, "Wa… ter."

Momo chittered as if he understood this time and ran off again. Natasha then said without moving, "I bet he's gonna bring something else back."

This made Katara have a deadpanned look from the remark before saying, "And I'm willing to bet that he will get it right."

"We shall see." Natasha said with a small smirk. This seemed to infuriate Katara a little as she gave a small growl. But then her thoughts drifted to friends and asked, "Aang, Steve, what in the world is taking you two so long?"

x

Both Aang and Steve continued to stand in their cells, trying to think of a way to escape. But neither of them had any bright ideas.

x

Soldiers, both of the Fire Nation and Hydra, stood on each of the walls and kept watch for any signs of threats. But within the forest a few yards away, two masked individuals poked their heads to look out through the bushes and observed the fortress. After silently assessing on what to do they snuck back into the shadows.

x

A cargo carriage strolled down a dirt road towards the fortress. The Komodo rhino pulling the cart growled as it pulled it along. As it passed over a certain spot, four hands burst out of the ground and silently grabbed the underside of the cart. Both the Blue and Red Spirits held on tight as the continued to make its way towards the fortress. The masked spirits looked to each other while they waited to near the fortress. When they stopped, they looked to the sides as a soldier inspected the cart and said, "All clear."

A Hydra soldier came up with a Fire Nation soldier who had a torch in hand. They checked on side of the carriage before moving around to the other side. When they both kneeled down to check the under carriage, they found nothing. They stood straight and the Hydra soldier allowed entry, "All clear. Go on in."

With a flick of the reins, the Komodo rhino started moving again while pulling the cart with the two masked men inside. The two spirits looked to each other and turned in the direction the cart was going. The giant metal gates of the fortress rumbled open for the cart to go inside.

While soldiers were unloading the cart, the two masked spirits were able to sneak away and quietly made their way through the courtyard within the first two walls. When they saw that the coast was clear, they ran towards a doorway.

x

From a balcony high up on the tower, Admiral Zhao stepped out with both Colonel Shinu and an old man wearing orange tinted glasses. The admiral then spoke, "We are the sons and daughters of fire. The superior element. Until today, the only one thing stood in our path to victory-" He let the suspension build up before saying, "the Avatar!" Then he added, "And now we know of forces from another world, known as the Avengers, stand with him!"

During the admiral's suspension build, the two masked spirits had snuck past a couple of guards in one of the battlements. As they continued to sneak along the walls of the fortress, Zhao continued his speech by assuring them, "I am here to tell you that he and one of these 'Avengers' are now my prisoner!"

Every soldier present for the speech cheered thinking their victory was on much easier path. Zhao then raised a confident fist and shouted, "This is the year Sozin's Comet returns to grant us its power."

The soldiers of the Fire Nation cheered at the thought of the immeasurable power. Zhao then said something about their allies, "And with the additional aid of our esteemed allies of Hydra, we will be able to crush any resistance from the other two nations!"

This caused all the Hydra soldiers listening to raise a fist in approval. Then Zhao finished by shouting, "This is the year the Fire Nation and Hydra breaks through the walls of Ba Sing Se and burns the city to the ground!"

Any and all soldiers cheered for this, and Zhao had a smirk on his face. And as they continued to cheer, the two masked spirits had made their way to the back of the fortress and the red masked one threw down a rope. Making sure it was secure, both of them lowered themselves down to the courtyard grounds. They quietly ran down into a lowered section of the fortress that had gathered up all the rain water. They made their way to a small grate and squeezed through.

x

As the two spirits made their way through the tower, they were about to turn at an intersection when a masked soldier came out of nowhere. The two masked spirits stopped as the soldier raised a spear at them. The Blue Spirit removed his blades and prepared for a fight. The soldier then started snickering before it turned completely into a chuckle and then turned into a big laugh while lowering the spear. The two masked spirits looked to each other as they didn't know how to respond. The soldier then said with a strange accent, "No need to worry about me." He raised his hands up to his helmet, and slid it off to remove both parts, revealing a man with long black hair and had no beard nor mustache as he said, "You can call me as a friend."

Then with a flick of his head he said, "I believe the Avatar and the Captain's cells are this way."

The two masked spirits looked to each other before following him.

x

Happening at the same time in their cells, Aang and Steve were trying to break the chains. But they stopped when they felt movement, and the Airbender shouted, "What? No!" A partially thawed frog jumped out and Aang shouted, "Don't leave, frogs. My friends are sick and they need you."

"Oh, come on!" Steve hissed under his breath. He groaned as he had another problem to deal with. The frogs in Aang's cell croaked as they slowly made their escape as Aang shouted "Please go back to being frozen."

Steve could hear Aang shouting and guessed that his friend's cell wasn't too far from his. But both him and the Airbender became desperate as they started to pull on the chains again. Though Steve's chains were starting to loosen while Aang had a comical face while trying.

Standing outside the Avatar's cell, the four guards who were keeping guard heard the sound of croaking. They looked down with a, "Huh?"

All four looked down to see the partially frozen frogs crawling out from the underneath the crack of the door. Deciding that it wasn't that important, the four resumed their stoic faces as they kept watch again.

Moving through an adjoining hallway, another set of four Fire and Hydra soldiers moved towards the Avatar's cell to relieve the guards already there. But a rolling Fire Nation helmet drew their attention as a man in Fire Nation armor came up to them and spoke in a strange accent, "Sorry for the drop of the helmet, my good men. But you should know that it's time for a shift change. And I believe the others to the shift change wish to meet you in the hall on the right. And even I found it a little odd."

"Hmm?" One of the soldiers said as they all became suspicious. A Firebender assumed his stance and went to the corner and walked down it. The remaining three guards and the new one watched as he walked down the hall on the right. The three on guard were surprised as the guard grunts and groans while trying to defend himself with fire. The two Hydra soldiers looked to each other before readying their weapons and moved to investigate.

When they went around the corner and looked down, they saw that the first guard was suspended to the ceiling and gagged while missing his helmet. They were so shocked and lowered their weapons, that they didn't think to look up as the two masked spirits watched them from the ceiling. The Blue Spirit silently lowered a rope that wrapped around the wrist of one Hydra soldier, while the Red Spirit dropped down behind the second soldier, grabbed his wrist and flung him into the metal wall. Then with a quick neck chop with his left hand, the Hydra soldier was knocked out cold.

The remaining Fire Nation soldier that had stayed behind and the new one stood staring at each other after hearing the commotion. The guard reached to his side to grab a horn, but the replacement said, "I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

The soldier didn't heed him and continued to reach for the horn. The replacement guard sighed as a knife spun through the air past him and knocked the horn out of the guards hand with the man giving a startled yell. The guard readied his stance when the replacement came closer and said, "So sorry about this." But then he chuckled to himself and said, "Then again, I'm not really."

The guard threw a fire fist, only for the Blue Spirit to move in front of Nikol and grab his arm and twisted it . The action prevented the soldier from firebending. Then the Red Spirit rushed forward and punched the guard in the sternum with his left arm, making the guard slump to his knees. The false guard came up behind and said, "Lights out, sunshine."

Then with a slap with the back of his hand, he knocked the guard out. The false guard turned to the two masked spirits and said, "Name's Nikol by the way."

The Blue Spirit motioned with his hand for Nikol to move. The false guard then did as he was 'asked' while the Blue Spirit moved towards the corner. And looked around it.

Meanwhile, the guards outside of Cap's cell looked down to see the exact same thing as half-frozen frogs crawled out from underneath the door. Cap was able to pull the chains loose and pulled the chains on his arms from their places. Then clashing his cuffs on his wrists really hard, he got the chains to break off. Quickly using his superhuman strength, Cap broke the chains off of his feet.

He quietly walked over to the door and quickly came up with a plan. Then he gave the metal door four good knocks. The guards on the other side looked to the door with questioning faces before the two Hydra soldiers informed their allies, "Be prepared for anything. It's said in the reports that this, Captain America, can be quite crafty."

The two Firebenders nodded and carefully opened the door. The four went in and gasped when they saw that he wasn't chained up any more. When they went to go back outside, a Hydra soldier met the receiving end of a fist. With a goofy smile, the man slumped down to the ground. The two Firebenders were about to use a double fire fist, but the captain jumped over their heads. When he landed he did a low sweep kick to knock them off their feet. The last Hydra soldier pulled out a knife and ran at the captain with a yell. Cap grabbed the man's wrist before flinging him over his shoulder. The soldier hit the metal wall with a bang.

With all of his enemies down, Cap ran through the door and closed it behind him. He ran down the hall and stopped before peeking around the corner, but was surprised to see two men in Blue and Red Spirit masks along with the man from the Earthbender prison rig standing at a corner. The Blue Spirit had two Dao swords while the Red Spirit carried a small machine gun. Nikol looked back to see Cap standing there before saying, "Ah, it's good to see you again, Captain America."

This caused the Blue and Red Spirits to look back, tense their bodies up and readied their weapons. But before any fighting could break out, Nikol stepped between them and said, "I think it would be in everyone's best interest if we all worked together to free the Avatar."

The Blue and Spirit looked to each other before nodding in agreement. All four of them peeked around the corner before an idea came to the Blue Spirit's mind. Walking back to unconscious guards, the Blue Spirit picked up a Firebender's helmet and tossed it around the corner. This caught all four guards' attention as they looked to the helmet.

"Hmm." One of the guards said as they found it odd. One of the Firebenders assumed a stance and went to the corner and walked down it. Cap pressed up against the wall as he came by his intersection. The super soldier watched as the guard walks while on guard down the hall, but became surprised when a blue masked figure dropped down from the ceiling and punched the soldier.

The three still guarding the Avatar's cell, became shocked when they heard the Fire Nation guard grunt and groan while defending himself with a blast of fire. The two Hydra soldiers readied their weapons and moved to investigate.

As they neared the intersection, Steve saw the weapons in their hands. The guards walked around the corner and were shocked when they found the guard suspended to the ceiling and gagged while missing his helmet. Cap tapped the wall behind him, making one of the Hydra soldiers look to the hall behind them and gasped when they saw Steve coming at him. The remaining guard at the door was startled when he saw a blur running through the intersection. Cap grabbed the Hydra soldier's wrist and swung him into the wall.

The other soldier turned and was about to open fire when another masked individual, one in a red mask. The Hydra soldier turned to look back and was struck hard by the Red Spirit's fist. The Blue Spirit then wrapped a rope around the Hydra soldiers' wrists and suspended them both up in the air.

The remaining guard, still spooked out by the blur, started to reach for the horn. But he when he had it he was stopped when a knife knocked the horn out of his hand. He looked up to see Cap standing beside the Blue and Red Spirits and threw a fire fist, but the Blue Spirit threw a bucket of water to douse the flames. This provided an opening to allow both Cap and the Red Spirit to rush the guard with a mirroring punch to the face.

The Blue Spirit walked up as the guard slumped over. Then acting quickly, the Blue and Red Spirits took a rope and bound the guard. All four of them moved towards the Aang's cell door.

Aang was pulling on his chains again when he heard the commotion on the outside. He looked to the door as it creaked open. The Blue and Red spirits and Cap walked into the room while the Blue Spirit shut the door behind them. Aang gasped in fear when he saw the Blue Spirit unsheathe his blades. Cap looked back and was about to stop him when the Red Spirit placed a hand to stop him. Even Nikol reassured him by saying, "He will be fine."

Cap then turned and watched as Aang screamed while the masked spirit swung his swords wildly at him. Aang continued to scream and then closed his eyes as he waited for it to end. But when the sword wielding spirit struck, a metallic thud caused Aang to open his eyes. He looked to his arms and saw that he had been freed. Even Steve sighed in relief from this. They watched as the Blue Spirits cut the wrist cuffs off of Aang. Then another swing freed Aang's feet. The two masked spirits then moved to walk out of the cell. Aang was still a little confused and asked, "Who are you guys? What's going on? Are you here to rescue me and Steve?"

He got a good look at Nikol standing next to Steve and said, "Hey, I remember you from the Fire Nation rig at Haru's village."

"That's right." Nikol said. Then he looked over to the masked spirits as the one with the sword motioned for them to follow. Thinking about the rescue, Aang said, "I'll take that as a yes on the rescuing question."

As Aang came out of the cell after the four, he saw one of the guards bound and muffling in a gag as the Firebender tried to break free. The two masked spirits turned down the right hall as Aang, Cap and Nikol came to the first intersection. The sound of a croak drew Aang and Cap's attention to the hall on the left. Looking down to the floor they saw the nearly thawed frogs crawling to escape.

"Our frogs!" Aang said a little too loudly. This caused Nikol and Cap to cringe as Aang shouted, "Come back! And stop thawing out!" He gasped when the frogs jumped out of his hands and the two masked spirits came back and grabbed him by the shoulders. Aang cried out as he was dragged away, "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!"

This made Nikol raise an eyebrow as he followed and muttered to Cap, "Suck on frogs? Who in their right minds would do such a thing?"

"My friend, even I'm finding it odd and disturbing." Steve replied as they followed the three.

x

x

It was late at night at the ruined city. Momo purred as he flew back to the hiding place. The hiding place had been filled with many items. And Katara had been covered in some of those items. Sokka and Nat continued to shiver from their fevers. Momo came in and dropped a crown on her head. Katara then questioned, "How many times do I have to tell you, Momo? We need water." Then she said it slow again, "Wa… ter."

Momo's ears twitched and Katara then just sighed before saying, "Oh, forget it."

"I told you that it was pointless." Nat sang. Katara scowled at this and said, "Oh, who asked you?"

But then her thoughts drifted back and said, "Aang, Steve, please hurry."

"Who are these Aang and Steve people you keeping talking about, your highness?" A delusional Sokka asked. This made Katara really irritated, and even more when Natasha said, "Maybe there friends who like to bring her cake."

Katara groaned at this before trying to get some more rest.

x

Back at the Fire Nation fortress, Aang, Nikol and the two masked spirits continued to sneak through the fortress. While the guards patrolled above them, Aang and Nikol followed the two masked spirit's lead and stuck to the shadows of the sewers. The four of them slowly kept quiet and moved fast from one end to the other.

When they reached the middle of the area, one of the masked spirits slowly brought himself to where he could see. He saw a single guard with a spear walking away, three guards conversing with themselves, and more guards patrolling the grounds. The masked man lowered himself and pointed up to signal that it was clear to move. Then one by one, the five quickly jumped out of the grate.

x

Meanwhile, inside the fortress, Admiral Zhao proudly walked through the halls with the old man wearing orange tinted glasses and the small moustache. Zhao then told the man, "I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord and Johann Schmidt, along with glowing testimonials from all of the ranking officers present. And…"

A sudden noise made Zhao stop in mid-sentence, and both he and the old man looked to their left. They were surprised and shocked to see the guards dangling and groan. Zhao's surprised face turned into a scowl as he turned his eyes to the Avatar's cell.

He quickly forced the door open, and a shocked Admiral Zhao found the cell to be empty. Though not completely as a lone frog sat on the floor. He then ran to the other cell and opened the door. He found the guards to Captain America's cell lying on the floor and another frog sitting on one of the unconscious guards. It croaked up to an angry Zhao as the admiral's eye twitched in agitation. Admiral Zhao then turned and ran through the fortress halls. The old man quickly looked into the room, then understanding the situation he asked, "Um, excuse me, sir? Should I hold off on sending that speech to the Fire Lord?"

"Even though it was a little preachy." The old man muttered under his breath while running. The frogs then started to hop after them as well.

x

The escaping five had reached the spot where the rope dangled. The masked spirits and Cap allowed Aang to go up first and then followed right behind one by one. But when they were halfway up the rope, an alarm bell rings out while a siren blares. The noises rang throughout the fortress grounds. A guard spotted them on the wall and shouted, "Over there!"

"On the wall!" Another guard shouted. A guard with a sword ran to the top of the rope and cut it in one swipe. Aang yelled as he and the others fell back to the ground. But before any of them could hit the ground, Aang created an air sphere under them and used it to cushion their fall. Cap looked to the other three and said, "So much for taking the stealthy way out."

"And yet we were so close." Nikol grumbled.

The two masked spirits readied their weapons. The Blue Spirit unsheathed the blades from his back while the Red Spirit removed a machine gun from his back. Aang and Cap looked at the rifle and thought that it looked a little familiar.

The Blue Spirit used one of his broadswords to point at the gates, indicating that it was their only way out. All four of them made a break for it.

Admiral Zhao ran out on the balcony and shouted, "The Avatar and the Avenger have escaped!" Then he quickly ordered, "Close all the gates immediately!"

"All of you stay close to me." Aang shouted as he ran in front of the group. A force of guards consisting of both Hydra and the Fire Nation formed a line with spears pointing at them. As they came closer, Aang jumped in the air before releasing a blast of air at the guards. The strong winds was powerful enough to throw the soldiers back. As they neared the gate, Cap and the two masked Spirits had to stop and fight when the soldiers came at them.

The Blue Spirit used his swords blocked and cut off the spear heads that came at him. The Red Spirit raised his rifle with it set to stun and fired from one guard to another. The guards who were hit groaned at the electrical pain and fell on their face. Nikol ducked under a spear before using a palm strike to knock a Hydra soldier back. Meanwhile, Aang had to skid to a stop when he realized that he wouldn't make it. He looked back to see his allies were in trouble. The young Airbender was so distracted that he almost didn't see a spear coming at him. He yelled in fright before grabbing it with his hands and blasting the guard away with his foot. Aang looked to the spear before breaking off the end, still not wanting to hurt anyone too bad. Then as the gates closed with a bang, Aang ran back to help his friends.

The swordsman spirit quickly moved about, slicing spear heads off. When one came at him, the swordsman spirit sliced down the wood. The Red Spirit bashed the butt of the rifle to one guard's face before grabbing the wrist of a Hydra soldier and twisted it. As the Hydra soldier screamed in pain, the Red Spirit kicked him in the gut to knock him down. Nikol stuck the spear's head in the ground and used it to spin around and kick the approaching guards. A quick blur came and knocked away the rest of the guards.

Then Aang stood before all four of them and used a big swing of the makeshift staff to hurl all three men up the wall. Nikol screamed in terror from the sudden flight before all four landed with a roll on the wall. They backed up and prepared to defend themselves as more guards with spears came at them. But Aang came in spinning the makeshift staff over his head and grabbed the Blue Spirit with his legs before carrying him off. Nikol looked to the other two and asked, "I don't suppose that either one of you have a plan to get us across?"

Meanwhile, Aang gave a strained grunt as he tried to hold on to the Blue Spirit and spin the makeshift staff. From down on the ground, the guards tried to throw their spears at them, but the Blue Spirit was able to deflect them with his broadswords. As they neared the middle wall, the Blue Spirit kept defending them from the incoming spears. When they were close enough to the wall, Aang yelled as they fell and tumbled on to the wall. The Blue Spirit recovered his broadswords while Aang picked the broken spear again. Both Aang and the Blue Spirit looked back over to the inner wall before keeping the guards busy as they waited for the other three members of their group.

The Red Spirit then motioned for them to wait. The confused captain and Nikol did as they was asked and waited as the Red Spirit was about to switch the barrel when two Hydra soldiers came rushing at them. Cap jumped over the Red Spirit and fly kicked one soldier while the other unsheathed a knife. The super soldier used his arm to block the soldier's blade arm before moving to where the Hydra tripped over his foot. Stumbling, the Hydra soldier didn't notice as Nikol got down on all fours to trip him over his back. Then looking back over to the Red Spirit, he saw that the machine gun's regular barrel had been replaced with one that had a grappling hook sticking out of it. The Red Spirit then stood up, took aim and fired to the middle fortress wall. The grappling hook flew over the courtyard between the two walls and hooked itself on the other side. Then detaching and placing the machine gun barrel to where the line would be secure, the Red Spirit motioned for Cap and Nikol to use it to shimmy to the next wall. Cap went first and quickly shimmied from one side to the other. When he reached the other side, he saw Aang and the Blue Spirit defending themselves from soldiers while they waited for Cap, Nikol and the Red Spirit.

Cap looked back on the other side of the cable and waited for the Red Spirit and Nikol to cross over. Nikol allowed the Red Spirit to go before him. As the masked man made his way over, Cap saw that the spirit's left sleeve had fallen a little and was surprised and shocked when he saw a glint of metal and thus he uttered one word, "Bucky."

He then looked over to the Blue Spirit and guessed that it could only be Zuko in disguise. But his thoughts were interrupted as more soldiers came in his line of sight. Cap jumped back from a jab from a spear, grabbed it with both hands, then used his super human strength to send the soldier over the other side of the wall. Cap looked back to the disguised Bucky and saw that his friend had nearly made it to their side. But then he gasped when he saw a Hydra soldier with a knife appear on the other side of the cable line.

Fortunately, Nikol intercepted the soldier with a kick to his gut. As the soldier doubled over in pain, the disguised Bucky continued to make his way over. When Nikol turned his attention back to the cable line, the Hydra soldier tackled him to the ground before turning to the line while twirling the knife in his hand. Then in one swift motion, the Hydra soldier cut the line, and the Red Spirit was nearly sent falling. Cap acted quickly and grabbed the right hand of the falling spirit. Then with his super human strength, Cap started to lift him back onto the wall. The sound of a click caused Cap to look to his left and gasped when he saw a Hydra soldier holding a pistol. But before the soldier could take a shot, a different bang rang throughout the fortress. Cap watched as the Hydra soldier fell to the ground and then looked to the Red Spirit and saw him holding his own pistol. Then with a shake of his head, Cap pulled the Red Spirit all the way back up.

They looked back to see Nikol kick the soldier over the edge. He looked to them and shouted, "Just go! I'll catch up!"

From the fortress grounds, the soldiers of both the Fire Nation and Hydra came running up with flexible ladders. When they reached the base of the wall, and with the ladders' flexibility, the guards at the front were able to walk up the wall. Six soldiers ran up with wall with six ladders.

Cap looked over the edge of the wall and informed, "We got company."

The Blue Spirit knocked a Fire Nation soldier off of one ladder while the Red Spirit smacked a Hydra soldier with the butt of his weapon. Cap flipped a guard over the wall while Aang used a blast of air on two other guards. Then jumping on the edge of the wall he sent a blast of air that knocked all of the soldiers off the ladder and onto the ground. The soldiers on the next ladder had braced themselves and when they looked up they saw that Aang was about to do it again. The soldier at the top of the ladder wailed in fear before he and the other men were also blasted back down to the ground. Cap and the two masked spirits had just knocked the last of the guards off of the other ladders when Aang ran up to the Blue Spirit and told the other two, "Watch what we do."

Then turning to the Blue Spirit with a ladder in his hands and shouted, "Take this!"

The Blue Spirit took one of the ladders in hand, not fully knowing what Aang's plan was. Cap and the Red Spirit followed suit with the other three ladders with Cap jumping on the Red Spirit's back. Aang jumped on another ladder and shouted to the Blue Spirit, "Jump on my back!"

The Blue Spirit didn't hesitate and held onto Aang as the ladder leaned with terrified Fire and Hydra soldiers clinging on for dear life. The four of them used the ladders as makeshift long legs to get them across the courtyard to the final wall. Aang and the Red Spirit used the second ladder to go further as the first with the soldiers fell to the ground. When Aang and the Blue Spirit were about to tip over on the second, Aang shouted, "Give me the next one!"

The Blue Spirit then handed the ladder down while the Red Spirit took his second from Cap. As they balanced themselves on their third long leg, two Firebenders came and set the ladders ablaze. The fire quickly spread to the top of the ladder, forcing Aang and the Red Spirit to jump with their passengers on their backs. They were able to at least make it to the wall, but when Aang and the Red Spirit grabbed a hold, they couldn't hang on and slipped. Cap and the Blue Spirit tried to hold on, but they unfortunately fell to the ground.

Aang, Cap and the Blue and Red Spirits fell to the ground with Aang yelling as they fell. Aang and Cap grunted in pain when they hit the ground. Both the Blue and Red Spirits stood up and readied their respective and secondary weapons as the guards surrounded them. A small group of seven soldiers with spears rushed the group. Aang moved from side to side as one soldier tried to repeatedly stab him. Cap and the Red Spirit grabbed two soldiers' spears before swinging them to bash the soldiers together. The Blue Spirit cut the spear head off another soldier's spear before drop kicking him in the chest. The last soldier was about to use a sneak attack on Aang while he was distracted by the other soldier. But he felt his spear fade out from his grasp before looking bewildered. When the Fire Nation soldier looked behind him, he saw Nikol swing the other end of the spear into his face really hard. The soldier fell on his back as Nikol blocked the final soldier's spear and allowing Aang to blast him back with a burst of wind. Cap looked to Nikol and asked, "How'd you get to us so fast?"

But before he could answer, more guards surrounded them. Three Firebenders sent streams of fire at them, causing Aang to jump in front of his friends and form an air shield around them.

"Hold your fire!" Admiral Zhao ordered while walking up to the scene. He pointed out to his forces, "The Avatar and Avenger must be captured alive." He looked to Nikol and said, "I don't know exactly who you are, but I will want to deal with you personally."

Upon hearing that, the Blue and Red Spirits quickly acted as the Blue Spirit placed Aang in a hold with his blades in an 'x' formation against the Airbender's neck and making Aang grunt in panic. Cap moved to help his friend, but was stopped when the Red Spirit grabbed the super soldier with his left hand and held a pistol up to the side of his head. This caused Cap to look to his friend, not knowing what he would do. Nikol looked between the now two hostages before looking to the Admiral and said with a smirk, "What will you do now, Admiral?"

It was ignored as a standoff with the Blue Spirit and Zhao staring at each other. Aang, Cap, and Nikol all watched with uncertainty about what could happen. Admiral Zhao then slowly ordered, "Open the gate."

"Admiral, what are you doing?" Colonel Shinu questioned. But Zhao wasn't in the mood as he snapped, "Let them out. Now!"

The order was complied with as the gates rumbled open behind the four. When it was opened wide enough, the Blue and Red Spirits led Aang and Steve out of the fortress by walking backwards with Nikol moving between them. Shinu then questioned the scowling Zhao, "How could you let them go?"

"A situation like this requires…" Admiral Zhao explained as a grin formed when he said with deadly intent, "precision."

The Blue and Red Spirits had led Aang and Cap a good distance away from the fortress with Nikol staying between them. Cap tried to think of a way to get him and Aang out of this situation. He didn't know what Nikol would do or if he could be trusted, but Cap did know that he would be ready. But they continued to walk backwards.

On the outer wall of the fortress, Admiral Zhao stood between two Yu Yan archers as they readied their bows. Without turning his head to either of them, Zhao continued to watch with patience and asked, "Do both of you have a clear shot?"

The archers didn't say anything as they took aim. Admiral Zhao then ordered, "Knock out the thieves. I'll deliver them to the Fire Lord and Johann Schmidt, along with the Avatar and the captain." Zhao turned his head to Shinu and said, "I'm willing to bet that Johann will be interested to hear that one of his agents went rogue, or that his weapons have fallen into the wrong hands." And he glared at the Colonel before saying, "And I'm sure that the Fire Lord will be interested to hear how the fortress was easily infiltrated by an enemy."

This caused the Colonel to glare at him, but he said nothing against the Admiral. The archers waited one more moment before releasing their arrows. The arrows flew fast through the air before hitting the Blue and Red Spirits in the head with a clang.

Aang, Cap and Nikol looked back to the downed spirits and the former's eye grew wide when he saw a face under the Blue Spirit's mask. His eyes started to tremble when he noticed a scar where the eye was. Cap knelt down to the Red Spirit before looking to Aang and said, "Aang, give us some cover!"

Aang then used his airbending to throw up a smoke screen. Zhao saw the cove and ordered, "Quick, recover the Avatar and the Avenger!"

Aang knelt down to the other man, turned the Blue Spirit's head and slowly removed the mask, uncovering the face of an unconscious Prince Zuko. Cap and Nikol watched as Aang jumped back with a gasp before looking to Steve and asked, "Did you know?" Then he looked to Nikol with a questioning look.

"Only during the escape." Cap replied. Nikol shook his head before saying, "This came to me as much of a shock as well."

The super soldier then lifted Bucky onto his shoulder before saying to Aang, "Come on, we can't just leave them."

Aang looked down to Zuko and thought about how he and Bucky had risked their lives to save him and Steve. Then he thought about what would happen if one or both had fallen into Zhao's clutches. As the guards came running up the path, Aang quickly picked Zuko and while Nikol picked up the swords and machine gun.

When the soldiers came on the spot as the dust settled, they were surprised when they found nothing. From up on the battlement, Zhao was truly infuriated as he scowled at the fact that he had lost all of them. But his scowl fell when he heard a croak. Looking down, everyone saw a frog sitting on the floor. The frog then jumped onto the wall before jumping down to the far ground.

x

It was nearing dawn as Aang, Steve and Nikol walked with the Airbender and super soldier carried the unconscious Zuko and Bucky through the forest on their backs while Nikol still held on to their weapons under their chins. They came to a spot where they could lay the two men and their weapons down on a bed of leaves. When Cap set Bucky down on the ground next to Prince Zuko, he and Aang looked to Nikol. With a whole-hearted smile he said, "Well, young Airbender and Captain, this has been one heck of an adventure, I must admit."

"Thanks." Aang said with a smile before bowing, "And thank you for helping us back there. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Nikol waved it off and said, "Bah, it was no trouble really." He chuckled and said, "After all, mischief and trouble is actually something that I live to do."

"Well, we do thank you all the same." Steve said as he held out his hand. Nikol was a little hesitant at first, but still to the super soldier's hand and gave it a good shake. He sighed as he looked up and saw that the new day was coming. Looking back to Aang and Steve he said, "Well, you two, I had best be on my way. Good luck finding those frogs that you need for your friends."

Nikol turned and started to walk down the path. Aang, curious, called out, "Wait!"

This caused Nikol to stop and look back as Aang asked, "Will I or my friends ever see you again."

Nikol took a moment to look up and think for a moment. Then with a small grin he said to Aang, "I may appear here and there now and again. But if you want to have a little fun or cause some mischief, then I'm the one you can call."

The strange man then chuckled as he walked off. Aang and Steve watched him go until the man was out of sight. Then they sat down on a small rise beside the unconscious two.

It was a few hours past dawn when Prince Zuko and Bucky started to regain consciousness. With a groan they opened their eyes and looked to their right to find both the Avatar and Captain America sitting against a tree. The former of the two hugged his knees as he spoke to them, "You know what the worst part about being over one hundred years ago is?"

Neither Zuko or Bucky answered, but Aang didn't mind as he said, "I miss all the friends I used to hang out with." He then remembered one friend in particular, "Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon."

A smile formed on the Airbender's face as he recalled, "The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together." He looked away as he said, "He was one of the best friends I ever had."

"I do know the feeling." Steve said as he recalled his friends from the war, "Me and him," He gestured to Bucky, "we hung out with a rowdy crew during the war."

Aang then looked to Prince Zuko and said, "And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you."

It seemed as if Zuko was thinking about what Aang was saying. And Bucky was trying to think of the memories he had with Steve. Aang then asked Zuko, "If we knew each other back then, do think we could have been friends, too?"

The two men just laid there before the Winter Soldier quickly stood up and made a jump-grab at the two. Steve and Aang jumped back, but had to quickly jump out of the way as Prince Zuko shot a fireball at them. Aang used his airbending to launch Steve into the trees. Then following him into the branches, Zuko and Bucky watched as their targets made a full retreat while jumping through the tree branches to get away. Prince Zuko's face fell as he started to think about Aang's words. The Winter Soldier was feeling the same way as he looked to the ground.

x

Aang and Steve returned to the valley swamp where they had been chased by the archers and soldiers. Dipping their hands in the cold and murky waters again and they were successful as they found more of the frozen frogs.

x

It was a few hours past sunrise as Prince Zuko's smaller boat was pulled back into the main ship. Both Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier walked across the deck and past Iroh as he played the Sunghi horn next to the creepy monkey idol. He stopped playing and looked at the two, "Where have the two of you been, Prince Zuko?" They kept walking as he told them, "The both of you missed music night." He sounded extra happy as he said from an artist's point of view, "Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song."

"We're going to bed." Prince Zuko informed over his shoulder. Then he said while rubbing his head, "No disturbances."

"Please." The Winter Soldier said as he went in behind the prince. General Iroh did find it odd, but he didn't say anything as he continued to play the Sunghi horn.

x

Back at the hideout, Aang and Steve trudged in and looked at all the gathered items that Momo had brought in while trying to please Katara. But they didn't say anything while walking over to their friends. Aang went to Katara and Sokka while Steve went to Natasha as the Airbender said, "Suck on these. They'll make you feel better."

Natasha, Katara and Sokka did as they were told and started sucking on their 'medicine'. Steve and Aang walked to Appa's tail and laid down with a sigh. Sokka looked to the two's direction and asked, "Aang, Steve, how was your trip? Did you guys make any friends?"

"No, I don't think we did." Aang said as he turned to his side. But then he did say over his shoulder, "But we did run into Nikol."

"Oh, that's nice." Natasha said as she sucked on her frog. She looked to Steve as he walked over to a wall before falling back on it before sliding down. Then she said, "I hope you two were nice to sweet Nikol."

"Don't worry. We were." Steve said before a yawn. But as he started to close his eyes he looked over to Aang and said, "After we get some rest, we have to let them now."

"Sounds like a plan." Aang said with a thumbs up before it fell back onto the ground. Steve then closed his eyes as he fell asleep.

x

In his room, Prince Zuko laid on his cot and looked up at the ceiling as he thought about the events that had just transpired. Then he took one look at the Fire Nation insignia before turning away and closing his eyes to sleep.

x

In his own room, the Winter Soldier, or Bucky, was really starting to think about what Aang said as more memories of him and Steve came back to him. He laid down and closed his eyes, trying to sleep it off.

x

In the office of the three walled Fire Nation fortress. The old man was with Zhao as he sat in his chair thinking. Then without turning, the Admiral said to the man, "Write this message for Johann: that there appears to be a traitor in the midst of Hydra's ranks. And tell him that my proof is that I have seen a man with a Hydra stun gun, for no Fire Nation soldier in the fortress carried one."

He stood up as the old man continued to write down. Then he looked up at the new Fire Nation flag; the symbol of fire, tattooed on the forehead of the insignia of Hydra.

x

As the three sick continued to suck on their medicine, Sokka clearly enjoyed it as he said, "Mm. This is tasty."

"You said it, Sokka." Natasha agreed. Katara didn't say a word, but clearly thought the same thing with the smile on her face.

But all their satisfaction would turn to disgust as the frog thawed out and started wriggling in his mouth while croaking. The Water Tribe teen's eye started to twitch before spitting the frog out. Katara noticed that her frog thawed out too and screamed, opening her mouth to let the frog jump out. Natasha felt sick again as she spat her frog out. Steve watched with a raised eyebrow as the three coughed and gagged from having frogs in their mouths. He looked down from watching the girls brush their tongues with their hands and Sokka licking the fur on Appa's leg to see Momo chasing one of the frogs.

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: And here is the final version for Chapter Thirteen. I will be placing it in the stead of both the other two versions of the chapter. It will be the last time that I redo Chapter Thirteen. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	14. Chapter 14: The Fortuneteller

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. And this the second episode of the fourth disc, so we're halfway done with this disc and edging closer to the finale of Book One. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Aang sat before the council of Airbenders of the Southern Air Temple and asked, "How did you know it was me?"_

" _We have known that you were the Avatar for quite some time." A monk said. Monk Gyatso then said, "Normally, we would have told you when you turned sixteen."_

 _One hundred years later, Aang found himself waking up in Katara's arms._

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 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Fourteen: The Fortuneteller**

It was late at night somewhere deep inside the Earth Kingdom as the group made camp for the night. After their storm sickness, Natasha, Katara and Sokka were all doing much better. Steve had just lit the fire for the firepit and the five sat around it. All four of Aang's friends sat on both sides of the fire as they waited for Aang to tell them what had happened while he was away getting their 'medicine'.

"So basically what happened was," Aang started the story, "after Steve and I had talked with the herbalist, we were attacked by these archers. But it wasn't just archers, there were these soldiers with them. And they had-"

He drew the soldiers' symbol in the dirt as he said, "This symbol on their chests. Not to mention some strange weapons."

When the other four looked at it, Sokka and Katara found it odd, but Nat knew all too well who they were dealing with. Katara noticed the looks on her and Steve's faces and asked, "You know who it is, don't you?"

"We do." Steve said as he gazed into the fire. He looked to each of the kids and said, "You remember when we talked about Bucky, right?"

"Yeah, it was right before we went into the city of Omashu." Sokka recalled. Natasha looked to Aang and Steve before she asked, "How many Hydra soldiers were there with the archers?"

"Only a small group." Aang said as he rubbed the back of his head. He then admitted, "I didn't get an exact number at the time. But there were a lot more of them when I had been captured and held prisoner by Admiral Zhao."

"That Zhao guy was promoted to Admiral?" Katara questioned. Sokka was in full agreement and said, "This is certainly gonna complicate things."

"Especially if Hydra is starting to bring their forces into this world." Nat said before turning to Steve, "It would seem that they've fixed the portal machine in our world to an extent, and are able to transport their soldiers."

"Who knows how long it'll be until they're able to bring over their war machines." Steve said. Aang then asked, "Is Hydra gonna be a huge problem?"

Steve and Natasha looked to each other. Then Steve said, "Perhaps if we can stay a step ahead, then maybe we can still beat them before the end of summer."

The three kids looked to each other until Natasha said, "There's no point in dwelling on it right now. We'll worry about those problems when we get there."

"She's right." Steve said in agreement. Then he said, "Let's try to get some sleep."

All five of them moved into the tent for a good night's rest.

x

It was bright and early the next morning as the five of them sat around the burned out campfire. While Sokka, Momo, Katara and Natasha sat around doing nothing at the moment, Steve was polishing his shield while Aang was fiddling with something on his lap. They sat in silence until a huge green fish splashed out of the river. Katara stood up and pointed with a shout, "Look!"

The fish jumped out the river again and shook as it flew through the air. Sokka stood up as well and watched how it jumped, scowling before he had a sad face. The fish jumped up again and it made a face as if to gloat. Sokka's scowl returned as he said with a glare, "He is taunting us!"

The fish continued to jump out of the water, making Sokka the more hungry and shout, "You are so going to be dinner."

He ran over to where the fishing pole was leaning and grabbed it before running back to the river. He tried to throw the line out three times, but was confused when he didn't see anything hit the water. Then he looked at his pole and questioned, "Hey! Where's the fishing line?"

"I gave the fishing pole to Aang not too long ago." Natasha recalled. She and Sokka looked over to the Airbender as he said, "Oh. I didn't think you would need it, Sokka."

"Where did you get that logic?" Steve questioned as he placed his shield on his back. Aang looked a little sheepish as he confessed by holding up his creation. The others looked to see that he had made a necklace out of the fishing line and a flower. But Sokka had a glare on his face as he complained about it, "AH, it's all tangled!"

"Not tangled," Aang said as he used his airbending to stand, "woven." Looking to the Waterbender of the group he said, "I made you a necklace, Katara."

He had a small smile as he said, "I thought since you lost your other one…" Then he held it full length with a huge smile on his face.

Katara smiled as she walked over and Aang gave it to her. Katara then said, "Thanks, Aang, I love it."

Steve and Natasha smiled at the moment until Sokka said with a deadpanned stare, "Great, Aang." Then he sarcastically said, "Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry-making business."

"I don't see why I can't do both." Aang said with a shrug and a smile as Katara stood behind the others while putting the necklace on. Sokka's deadpanned attention was brought back to the river as the fish started jumping again. When it landed, Sokka threw the lineless pole at the spot as if to skewer it. The fish jumped over the pole as it sank into the river. This caused Sokka to become very frustrated as he said, "Stop taunting me!"

Then reaching behind him, he pulled out his knife before running/waddling into the river. He grunted as he plunged his knife into the water and tripping while trying to chase his edible foe. As Aang, Steve and Natasha watched Sokka try to catch a fish with his bare hands, Katara said from behind, "So, how do I look?"

Aang turned with a bored expression until he looked at Katara. His face blushed as he instantly became enamored by the sight of the beautiful Water Tribe girl. As he looked at her, Aang found her to be even more beautiful as if he could see sparks glittering around her as she was slightly blushing as well. Aang tugged on the collar of his shirt as he asked, "You mean, all of you, or just your neck?" He started to feel a little awkward as he placed a hand on his head and said, "I mean, because both look great."

"Subtle, Aang." Nat commented with her arms crossed.

Sokka came back up with the fish in his arms, overheard what Aang was saying and said in a teasing manner, "Smoochie, smoochie." He made a kissy face at the wiggling fish while saying, "Someone's in love."

His teasing earned him a slap from the fish and fell back into the water with an, "Oh!"

"Oh man!" Natasha laughed as she hugged her sides from watching. Then she pointed at the rising Water Tribe teen and said, "Rejected by slap from a fish. I wish I could instant replay that!"

"Nat." Steve warned while giving her a look. But all Natasha did in her defense was shrug her shoulders.

"I… well…" Aang tried to explain while rubbing the back of his head. But Katara came to his defense as Momo jumped on the Avatar's shoulder, "Stop teasing him, Sokka." She walked over and said, "Aang's just a good friend."

Aang had a surprised look on his face as she rubbed his head and said, "A sweet little guy." Then she turned to the lemur on his shoulder and compared as she rubbed his head, "Just like Momo."

"Thanks." Aang softly said as he looked away. Steve and Nat looked to Aang with sympathetic expressions as Sokka walked out of the river. The sound of growling in the distance caused Momo's ears to stand tall. He cooed and flew towards the sound. The lemur landed on a boulder with Aang jumping onto it beside Momo. Aang then saw something and pointed as he shouted, "Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!"

They came up to the rock as Natasha questioned, "A what-bear?"

When they saw the bear, the only ones who were weirded out were the two Avengers. Nat turned to Steve and said, "Well, there's something you don't see every day."

Said bear continued to growl at a man dressed in a blue hat and robe as it stood on its hindlegs. The bear made a swipe with its left paw, and the man effortlessly ducked. Then the man stepped back when the animal made a swipe with its right. Then the man took another step back with his foot raised as the platypus bear brought down it broad tail. The mixed bear turned with a snarl and made two swipes with its paws which the man was able to dodge. Aang jumped on a boulder behind the bear, which the man noticed and casually said, "Well, hello there."

He slid back from another swipe from the right paw before coming forwards again and saying with a smile, "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Make noise, he'll run off!" Aang shouted with his hands up to his mouth. The other's ran up behind him as Sokka, with a hand up to his mouth, shouted, "No play dead, he'll lose interest."

"Or, just you could run for your life!" Nat added. The platypus bear made another swipe with its left paw, and when the man ducked down, his hat took a second to drop on his head as he said, "Whoa! Close one."

Then he let loose a chuckle as he backed away from another swipe. Katara held a hand to her mouth and pointed as she shouted, "Run downhill, then climb a tree!"

"No, punch him in the bill!" Sokka suggested. Then Aang shouted while pointing, "And then run in zigzags!"

"Just do something to get away from it!" Steve shouted as he looked at the man with a weirded out face. But the man remained calm as he stood still in front of the attacking bear and said, "No need, it's going to be fine."

"Fine?" Nat questioned before running up to the bear and jumping on its back, trying to put it in a choke hold. The bear roared as it tried to shake her off. Steve ran forward and grabbed its left paw as it was about to take another swing. The platypus bear used its free paw to swat the super soldier away, and then started to deliberately fall on its back. Nat could see what it was trying to and quickly jumped off.

The platypus bear stopped its fall and then took another swipe at the man. With spin as he ducked, the man narrowly avoided getting slashed while the tree was gauged. Having seen enough, Aang jumped from the boulder and landed in front of the raging animal. When he landed in front of the sitting man, Aang sent a wave of air at the bear before holding his hands in a readied fighting stance. Steve and Nat joined him on both sides as they readied themselves for a fight. The platypus bear growled fiercely loud as it stood at its full height. What the platypus bear wasn't counting on was Appa coming behind it and growling even more fiercely. The wind from Appa's growl ruffled the bear's fear as it popped out an egg in fear. Then crouching down on all fours, the platypus bear took off running to the river. Sokka and Katara came running up as the platypus bear dove into the river and swam off.

Sokka picked up the freshly egg, and sounded happy as he said, "Mmm, lunch."

Then he took two sniffs of the egg. Nat looked a tad bit disturbed before saying, "You do know that just came out of a bear's rear, don't you."

Sokka didn't seem to acknowledge the comment as he held the egg close and said to the old man, "Lucky for you we came along."

"Thanks," The man said as he stood up with a spin, "but everything was already under control. Not to worry."

"Yeah, and it's mostly to Appa, here." Steve said as he patted the bison's head. The bison gave grateful roar while Sokka looked at the man with a questionable look. The man walked over and said before bowing, "Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey."

"Aunt Who?" Aang asked. Nat then took a guess, "I'm guessing this is someone who can see the future?"

"You are correct." The man told her. Then he said, "Aunt _Wu_. She's the fortune-teller from my village." He gave a big toothy smile and said, "Awful nice knowing your future."

"Wow, it must be." Katara said. Then she realized, "That explains why you were so calm."

"But the fortune-teller was wrong." Sokka skeptically said. He tried to make a point, "You didn't have a safe journey. You were almost killed."

"But I wasn't." The man said with his smile still on his face. Steve eye's grew wide when he thought about, "I think that we're the reason you had a safe journey."

"Maybe." The man said with a shrug. Then placing his right fist into his left palm, he bowed and said, "All right, have a good one."

He started to walk away before remembering, "Oh, and Aunt Us said that if I was to meet any travelers," He removed a parcel from his back and came to hand it to Aang, "to give them this."

Aang took it as the man turned and walked away again. Sokka came up beside Aang to look at the item before looking towards the man as he walked away. Katara then suggested, "Maybe we should see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes- it could be fun"

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Natasha said while Aang examined the gift. But the skeptic of the group said while Aang ripped into the wrapping, "Oh, come on, fortune-telling is nonsense."

Aang opened it up and was amazed and said, "What do you know, an umbrella."

"I wonder what this could mean." Steve said while Aang placed it over his head. Then a split second later, thunder boomed overhead and rain started to pour. Sokka hunched his shoulders as Katara used her waterbending to make her a makeshift shield. Steve then removed his shield from his back and held it over his head, which Nat took advantage of. Katara then moved under the umbrella and said, "That proves it."

"No, it doesn't." Sokka said in denial while trying to use the egg to shield himself from the rain. Steve then looked to the teenager and questioned, "You don't believe in fortune-tellers, and yet after seeing the things we've seen?"

"There are some things that can be explained, but reading one's future isn't." Sokka said. Then he looked to his sister and said, "You can't _really_ tell the future."

"I guess you're not _really_ getting wet, then." Katara mocked as she and others kept dry. Because it had gotten wet from the rain, the egg became slippery and flew high out of Sokka's hands. Then he tried to catch it, but waved his hands as it came down, "No, no!"

But the egg crashed into his head, and the yoke inside ran down his face.

A few minutes later…

"Of course she predicted it was going to rain," He said as he walked through a puddle, "the sky's been gray all day."

"In denial much." Natasha asked a hugging himself Sokka. Katara then said, "Just admit you might be wrong, and you can join us under the umbrella."

"Or under the shield." Steve added as they kept walking. But Sokka wasn't ready to admit defeat and said, "Look, I'm going to predict the future now:"

"Are you a certifiable fortune-teller?" Natasha cracked as the Water Tribe teen fell behind. Sokka gave her a scowl before saying in an eerie voice and stepping like a weird monkey, "It's going to keep drizzling."

The rain didn't look like it was going to stop.

"See?" He said as if her were right. The others had turned to him when he started, but then looked up to the sky when it did the opposite. Aang leaned the umbrella back to look up before saying with a smirk, "Not everyone has the gift, Sokka."

"I think you may need to give up your fortune-teller license." Steve said with a raised eyebrow and placed his shield behind his back. A deadpanned Sokka stood in place while the others kept moving. Appa walked up beside the teen and started to shake off the excess water. This caused Sokka to shield himself while screaming, "Yah!"

Much later…

It wasn't long before the group came to a village at the base of a mountain. Aang, Steve, Sokka, Natasha, and Katara walked through the gate and past a couple of ducks.

"That mountain kind of reminds me of Mount. Fuji." Natasha said. Steve didn't say anything as they entered the village. One of the ducks came closer and quacked at them.

They walked towards a building where a man in black robes stood outside. The man saw them, slightly bowed and said, "Aunt WU is expecting you."

"I always get creeped out when someone says that." Nat commented as they stood outside. But Katara seemed fascinated and said, "Really?"

Sokka scoffed as the five, six when you count Momo, entered the building. The man in the black robe shut the door behind them as a girl with long pig-tails and a pink dress walked into the room with her hands clasped and head bowed. When she lifted her head she had a smile and said, "My name is Meng, and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant."

She kept her smile as she looked the five over, but Meng stopped when she saw Aang. She had become enamored with him enough to see shimmering sparkles floating beside him, even if he had a bored expression on his face. Meng's smile returned as she said, "Well, hello there."

Steve and Nat noticed the tone in her voice, and looked to see that she was looking at Aang. The young Airbender was squeakily rubbing his nose when Steve nudged him with an elbow and motioned to the girl in front of them. Aang stopped rubbing his nose and said, "Hello."

"Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean-curd puffs?" Meng offered as she motioned to some pillows on the floor. The five made their way and sat down on the pillows. Before sitting down, Sokka thought with his stomach by saying, "I'll try a curd puff."

"Just a second." Meng said with a hand to the teenager. Sokka's face fell as she looked to Aang. Natasha snickered as she stood next to Sokka. She lowered herself to be at eye level with the Avatar and asked, "What's your name?"

"Aang." The boy casually said. Steve couldn't believe how oblivious Aang was. But it didn't seem to deter Meng as she gasped and said, "That rhymes with 'Meng.'

"And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?" The girl in the pink robe said. Aang was a little weirded out by it and said while looking at them, "I… guess."

"Don't be modest, they're huge!" A now shoeless Sokka chuckled. Nat then leaned closer to the teen and said, "Maybe so, but they're nowhere as big as yours, 'Elephant Ears.'"

This brought Sokka out of his mocking mood and looked to the spy with a glare. Meng, ignoring the side commentary, stood up and said, "Well, Aang, it's very nice to meet you." She took a step back while saying, "Very nice."

"I'm sure it was." Nat said while glancing at Aang. Aang still didn't fully understand what was going on, but was still polite and said, "Likewise."

Meng took one last glance at the Airbender while walking out of the room. Sokka was still in a foul mood as he skeptically said, "I can't believe we're here in the House of Nonsense."

"Try to keep an open mind, Sokka." Katara said to her sibling with a deadpanned stare. She perked up by saying, "There are things in this world," She looked to the two Avengers before saying, "or any world, that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?"

"Sometimes an insight to a soldier's future is that there will more than likely be a fight." Steve said. Nat then added, "As for a spy, it's one mission after another."

"I meant besides those things." Katara commented. Nat nodded her head and said, "We know, we were just saying."

"It would be nice to have some bean-curd puffs." Sokka commented with a smile. Katara's face fell as the others looked to the teen.

Meng was starting to come around the right hall with a tray of food when the door to the back room slid open. A woman in a green and white dress walked out with a smile on her face and when she saw Meng she said, "Oh, Meng!"

Meng turned to the woman as she slid the door closed before saying, "Aunt Wu says I'm going to meet my true love! He's going to give me a rare panda lily."

"That's so romantic." Meng said with a smile. She looked over her shoulder and said, "I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower."

Aang, having overheard, smiled to her and said, "Good luck with that."

The woman who had her fortune told giggled when she saw Aang. She placed a hand up to her mouth before asking, "Is that the big-ear guy who Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?"

This caused Meng to tense up, and pushed her away to save face before turning to the group. Steve and Nat had witnessed her pushing the other girl away and wondered what it was about. Meng walked up to Aang, looked a little nervous before tripping with a yell, "Aah!"

Aang leaned forward and caught the tray while holding her hands. They looked up into each other's eyes as Meng blushed. Then she pushed the tray into Aang's hands and said, "Enjoy your snack."

Then she quickly made her way back out of the room. While four of the five watched her go, Sokka eyed the snacks and snatched them out of Aang's hands. Aang looked down to his empty hands as a woman in a yellow dress walked in and said, "Welcome, young travelers."

The group got a good look at the woman as she had her hands in her sleeves. She wore a darker yellow robe over her dress, her lips were painted red, her eyelids had a violet shade. And on her forehead rested a yellow head band with another piece more into her hair. She looked to each of them and asked, "Now, who's next? Don't be shy."

Nat and Aang looked to a skeptic Sokka before he looked away. Then rolling his head, Aang and Steve looked to Katara. Katara then stood while saying, "I guess that's me."

She walked with Aunt Wu as the others sat on their pillows and Sokka tossed bean-curd puff into his mouth. When he got a taste he said with his mouth full, "Not bad, not bad."

Aang, Steve and Natasha gave him weird looks as he stuck a hand full into his mouth. He kept enjoying it as he kept eating. Then he noticed the stares he was getting and offered the bowl to Aang. Aang politely declined by pushing the puffs away and saying, "I-I'm good on puffs."

"Oh, well." Sokka mumbled with his mouth full. Then he offered the bowl to the two Avengers. Nat gave him an odd look and said, "Not after you've been fingering all of them."

Sokka then looked behind Aang to Steve, with the super soldier saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Sokka just shrugged and continued eating the bean-curd puffs. Aang started to wonder how it was going back there and then asked, "So… What do you think they're talking about back there?"

"Who knows, ones future is sure to be a mystery." Natasha said as she leaned back on her hands. Sokka picked up a cup and held it with his pinky out before saying, "Boring stuff, I'm sure: love, who's going to marry, how many babies she's going to have."

This made Aang go wide eyed as he thought of Katara being loved by someone else while Sokka took a sip of tea. He played along by saying, "Yeah, dumb stuff like that."

"Don't worry so much, kid." Natasha said to make him feel better. A nail biting Aang somewhat knew what she meant, but still got up and said, "Well, I got to find a bathroom."

Aang walked out of the room, allowing Sokka to lay down on his pillow and enjoy the puffs. As he was distracted with a tossed bean puff, Momo snuck over and stole the bowl from the teen. Sokka reached for another puff when he felt that there was no bowl. Steve and Natasha smirked at this as the latter rubbed behind the lemur's ears. The airbender silently walked around the corner and stopped at the wall when he heard Aunt Wu say, "Your palms are so smooth. Do you use moisturizer?"

Aang carefully leaned against the wall and listened in on the conversation. He grew bored when he heard Katara say, "Actually, I have this special seaweed lotion." Aang's face dropped and he stuck his tongue out from the conversation as Katara said, "I could get you some if you want.

"So, do you see anything interesting in my love line?" Katara asked, reinteresting Aang. He listened closely as Aunt Wu told the Waterbender, "I see a great romance for you, the man you're going to marry."

Aang's eyes grew wide as Katara excitedly said, "Tell me more!"

Aang leaned more closely to the wall as he eavesdropped on what Aunt Wu said next, "I can see that he's a very powerful bender."

Aang's surprised face turned into a sly smirk as he knew that Aunt Wu meant him. He used his airbending to quietly do a victory jump and landed with a silent yes.

Sokka's teeth squeaked as he picked between two with his pinky finger. Steve and Nat tried to ignore the obnoxious sound as they waited for their turn, but all three's attention was diverted when a happy Aang came around the right hall. Sokka sat cross-legged as he commented, "Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break."

This caught Aang off guard and he tried to explain, "Y-Yeah, when I was in there…"

"I don't want to know." Sokka said with a wave of his hand. Both Steve and Natasha looked equally weirded out as the latter said, "Yeah, keep business like that to yourself."

"Trust us, kid. It'll spare you in the long run." Steve added.

Both Aunt Wu and Katara came back into the lobby with the fortune-teller asking, "Who's next?"

"Okay, let's get this over with." Sokka said as he stood up. When he stood at full height, he straightened out his back. But Aunt Wu could already see his future as by saying, "Your future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it self-inflicted."

His friends and sister looked to the teen as he protested with a shrug of his shoulders, "But you didn't read my palms or anything."

"See mostly got a good look at you, Sokka." Nat commented with a slight smirk. Aunt Wu proved this point by saying, "I don't need to, it's written all over your face."

This left Sokka scowling at her and going back to squeakily picking his teeth with his other pinky. Aunt Wu then pointed to Aang and said, "You there, come with me." Then looking to the two Avengers she said, "Unfortunately, I'm expecting more future seekers, so if you wouldn't mind."

Steve and Nat took the hint as the former said, "I guess we can."

He and Natasha stood up and followed Aang and Aunt Wu into the back room. Katara watched them go while Sokka sat down slightly hugging himself. Aunt Wu slid the door open, allowing Aang and the two Avengers to see inside. The room was mostly filled with large jars, a few candles on three of square floor indention, four pillows in the indention's corners, four lanterns hanging from the ceiling in their corners, some furniture along the three walls and a small fire in a ring designed to keep it from spreading. The three walked with her as Aunt Wu then said, "This is the most reliable method of telling your fortunes."

"Well, at least the fire will keep us warm, even if is small." Nat cracked. Steve nudged her arm and gave her a look to behave. The spy sighed as she made her way to an urn filled with bones. Aunt Wu said, "The bones never lie." Then with a gesture of her hand, she said, "Go on, pick one."

All three of them picked up a different bone from the pile and followed Aunt Wu to the pillows. Aunt Wu sat on the pillow next to a tea pot with Aang sitting to her left, Steve on her right and Natasha across from her. Then she instructed, "Now throw them one by one into the fire."

As Aang was about to lightly toss their bones, a feeling quickly came over Aunt Wu. She suddenly held out her hand and said, "Wait."

All three of them looked to her and she said, "A feel a certain air around you three, and something tells me to have you all throw in your bones at once."

Steve, Aang and Natasha looked to each other before doing as she said. With a light toss from each of them, the bones fell into the flames. Aunt Wu then looked amongst the three and said, "The heat makes cracks in the bones, and I read the bone cracks to tell your destiny."

"So it'll tell you why it wanted us to throw at the same time." Steve guessed as they looked to the fire. Aunt Wu smiled and said, "That is correct."

As they endured the flames, a giant crack appeared in all three of them. Aang then commented, "Wow, those are some big cracks."

But it didn't stop there as more and more cracks covered the three bones. All three had wide eyes while Aunt Wu sounded surprised as she said, "I've never seen this before."

"I take it that you've never had told a fortune this big." Nat said while not taking her eyes off the bone. Aunt Wu didn't say or do anything as they continued to watch the bones.

Cracks grew along the bones until they were covered from one end to the other with them. Then in a flash, the bones shattered and a huge plum of smoke rose in the air. All four of them gasped and shield themselves from the small blaze as Aunt Wu shouted, "Oh, my!"

Then she looked down to where the bones were once whole. The other's didn't notice it, but Aunt Wu's felt an out-of-body experience as she somehow found herself in a dark void.

In her vision…

 _Six lights caused the fortune-teller to look up and she gasped when she saw them. Lights of the colors of purple, blue, red, yellow, green and orange arranged in the formation of a hand._

 _The orange light suddenly grew brighter as the light shone down on her. She gasped at what she saw: though it moved at fast pace, she could see the three in different battles. Some against the forces of the Fire Nation, another with metallic beings, against each other, one for a dying world, one where she could see heavy losses and on a world far in the cosmos._

 _She soon felt a presence behind her and slowly turned. Her eyes were wide and gasped in fright at what she saw: two figures, outlined by flames, yet their faces or forms could not be seen. One was taller than the other, but the shorter figure had glowing orange-red eyes. Both figures raised a hand to their lips and said in a deep or metallic sounding voice, "Shh! No spoilers."_

 _Aunt Wu didn't understand it even as she was whisked back into the darkness._

In the real world…

A moment later she found herself back in the fortune-telling room to find Aang, Steve and Natasha all looking at her. Steve then asked, "Are you all right?"

Aunt Wu took in a few deep breaths as she looked down to see small fragments of the bones drift down to the floor. Aunt Wu read the signs from the bones, and remembering her vision, she said, "Your destinies- this is incredible." The fortune-teller became dramatic as she said, "You three, all of your friends will be involved in great battles, awesome conflicts between the forces of good and evil, between the ideals of right and wrong and two avenge those who need it." She raised her hands over her head as she dramatically said, "Battles whose outcomes will determine the fate of entire worlds."

"Yeah, yeah, I knew that already." Aang nonchalantly said as he knew what he was supposed to do, somewhat surprising. Steve and Natasha were in agreement as the super soldier said, "Plus, avenging is kind of our job, being heroes and all."

"But did it say anything about a girl?" Aang asked, really wanting to know about that part. Natasha then made herself look comical by holding her hands next her head as she said, "We really wish to know our special someone."

"A girl?" Aunt Wu asked. She looked among the three of them and asked, "You all want to know about love?"

"Yes!" Aang inquired. Steve had a smile as he said, "If it's not too much trouble, please?"

But Aunt Wu looked sullen as she said, "I'm sorry, but I didn't see anything in any of the bones."

Aang's face fell and he looked down. Steve and Natasha looked to the Airbender with sympathetic faces. Even Aunt Wu felt bad before saying in surprise, "Oh, look!" She placed a hand to her head as she sounded as if she had been silly, "I must've missed something."

She saw three bone shards and said, "Right here." Holding them parallel in her fingers she read the fortunes aloud, "They say 'Trust your heart and you will be with the ones you love."

"Really?" Aang asked, his hope restored. Then he was gracious as he stood up and said with a bow, "Thank you, Aunt Wu."

"We do thank you for this experience." Steve said as he and Nat stood up as well. The three left the room as Aunt Wu held a hand up to her head and shook it.

The five left the fortune-teller's hut and rejoined with Appa outside. Sokka then sounded smart-alec as he said, "Well, now you got to see for yourselves that fortune-telling is just a big, stupid hoax."

Nat did a quick turn around and walked backwards for a moment while saying, "Aw, is someone grumpy because they didn't have their fortunes told? Or the fact that she didn't do it with you the same way with us?"

All this did was make Sokka scowl at her. Katara then agreed with Nat by saying, "You're just saying that because you're going to make yourself unhappy your whole life."

"That woman is crazy." Sokka exclaimed with both fists in the air. Though not sounding like it, Sokka said, "My life will be calm and happy and joyful." He then kicked a pebble in frustration which ricochets off a sign and into the side of his head, resulting in him screaming before falling, "Ow!" Then he raised a finger and said, "That doesn't prove anything."

"Well, I liked my predictions." Katara said as two of the others had big smiles at Sokka's misfortune. She looked to her three friends and said with clasped hands over her heart, "Certain things are going to turn out very well."

"They sure are." Aang said in agreement while crossing his arms. Nat shrugged and said, "If you say so."

"Why?" Katara asked, curious what they both meant, "What did she tell you, guys?"

"Some stuff." Aang quickly said, not wanting to give it away. He sounded confident as he said, "You'll find out."

"Plus," Nat added, "You never know how things will really turn out when you get there."

"She does have a point." Steve said. Katara then started to walk off with Aang following with his hands behind his head. The five started to walk to the middle of town where a huge crowd was gathered. Everyone was looking up to the sky as Katara asked, "What's with the sky?"

"Maybe they're looking to see if it'll rain again." Nat said with a glance to Sokka. Sokka grumbled and scowled while Natasha looked away. She noticed a familiar face in the crowd and said to the others, "Hey, it's the man we meet earlier."

"You're right." Steve said when he saw him. The man turned to see the arriving five and said, "Hello again." Then he looked back up to the sky and said, "We're waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds, to predict the fate of the whole village."

"That cloud kind of looks like a fluffy bunny." Aang said as he pointed to said cloud. Katara clasped her hands when she saw the cloud, but the entire group was surprised when the man said, "You better hope that's not a bunny. The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction."

"For what, a famine or something?" Natasha questioned. Steve only shrugged his shoulders as Sokka leaned closer to the man and asked, "Do you even hear yourself?"

"The cloud reading will tell us if Mount Makapu," A woman in front of them explained. She pointed to the top of the mountain as she said, "dormant for another year, or if it will erupt."

"Couldn't you have just seen if it would erupt by going up to the peak?" Steve asked. The old man then said, "That was a tradition that we used to have once a year of going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves." He bore a smile as he said, "But ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago, we have a tradition of not doing that."

"Talk about breaking tradition." Nat said. The old man's smile remained as he said, "In a way it is."

"I can't believe you would trust your lives to that crazy old woman's superstition." Sokka said in disbelief. This causes shock amongst the group as Steve pulled Sokka to the other side of the group. Katara then looked to her brother and shushed him before saying, "She's coming."

The entire crowd looked back to see Aunt Wu and the assistant in black robes walking up the stairs. The crowd parted into two sections as the fortune-teller walked up to a three-stepped podium. Most of the crowd cheered as a man shouted, "Aunt Wu!"

A familiar face appeared beside the Airbender with Momo on his head as Meng looked up to the sky and said, "Hey, Aang, don't you think that cloud looks like a flower?"

Aang looked up to where she was pointing and said, "Huh?" Then he nervously said, "Sure, I guess."

Then pushing a yelling Meng out of the way, Aang then said to Katara, "Hey, Katara..." He pointed up to the cloud and said, "Don't you think that cloud looks like a flower?"

"Shh!" Katara scolded as she watched Aunt Wu. Steve then looked to Aang and questioned, "Wasn't that a little mean with what you did with Meng?"

Aang looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head. Their attention was diverted when Aunt Wu stepped onto the podium with folded hands. She bowed in respect to the crowd before taking a deep breath and holding her hands before her. Her assistant handed her a book as she looked up to see a cloud like an arrow and said, "Bending arrow cloud." Then she looked to crowd and said, "Good crops this year. Nice big harvest."

"Darn good news!" A farmer wearing orange tinted glasses and had a small moustache above his lip said before hugging his wife. He looked to the camera and gave a wink Aunt Wu looked to another cloud and said, "Wavy moon shape cloud. Let's see" She had a big smile when she said, "Gonna be a great year for twins."

"Yes!" Two boys shouted before high-fiving. Then Aunt Wu finished by looking at another cloud and said, "And a cumulous cloud with a twisty nub coming off the end of it." Everyone looked to the cloud she was reading before she dramatically said, "The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!"

The entire crowd cheered to the news. As the rest of the crowd continued to cheer, Aang decided to confess his feelings and said to Katara, "Since I got you here, uh," Aang rubbed the back of his head before saying, "there's something I want to tell you."

Steve noticed Aang turn to Katara and watched as Aang tried to say, "I like you, but more than normal."

But his words were lost as Katara ran forward into the cheering crowd. A depressed Aang watched with Momo standing behind his head and said, "Never mind."

"Don't worry, kid." Steve said and placed his hand on the young Airbender's shoulder. Aang looked up to him as the super soldier said, "You'll get your chance."

This didn't do much to change Aang's mood as he looked down.

Fortune-teller's place…

Back at the fortune-teller building, Katara knocked on the door to see Aunt Wu again. Standing back with her hands behind her back, Katara said as the door opened, "Hi, Aunt Wu. Sorry to bother you."

"Anytime." The fortune-teller said with a smile. Katara was really curious and said, "About this man I'm supposed to marry… is gonna be handsome?" Then a thought popped into her head and she said, "Oh, I hope he's tall."

"Ah" Aunt Wu said in understanding. Then she guessed, "you want another reading."

"Yes, please." A hopefully Katara asked with her hands clasped. Aunt Wu then led Katara into the room and slid the door shut.

In town…

"I can't believe all these saps." An irritated Sokka said as he, Aang and the two Avengers walked through town. They walked about as he kept ranting, "Someone really needs to scream some sense at them."

"Or pick at your head until your mind is open enough to see possibilities." Nat commented. Sokka looked to her and had a raised eyebrow as he questioned, "Why do you have to use such figurative images?"

Nat just shrugged as they kept walking. Aang was in disagreement with the teen and said, "They seem happy, Sokka."

"Yeah," Steve added, "all she's mostly doing is telling fortunes for love and maybe for the prosperity for the town. I don't see how this is much of a big deal."

"Yeah well, not for long." A determined Sokka said. He sounded serious as he said, "I'm going to prove Aunt Wu's predictions are nonsense."

"All you're really going to prove is that you're a skeptic to these people." Natasha told him. But it didn't deter Sokka as he grabbed onto a man in a light-blue robe and said, "Hey! You!" Wrapping an arm around the man's shoulder, Sokka pointed down to his feet and said, "I bet Aunt Wu told you to wear those red shoes, didn't she?"

His red shoes, though clashed with the rest of his outfit, were pointed at the toes and had a gold rim where the feet went in. The man seemed happy as he stepped away before saying, "Yeah, she said I'd be wearing red shoes when I met my true love."

"Uh-huh," The ever so skeptic Sokka said before asking with a smirk, "and how many times have you worn those shoes since you get that fortune?"

"Every day." The man said with a hopeful smile. This caused Sokka's smirk to drop and an irritated inferno appeared behind him as he shouted, "Then of course it's gonna come true!"

"Really? You think so?" The man asked, more hopeful then ever as he grabbed Sokka's wrists. The man released the Water Tribe teen and shouted, "I'm so excited!"

The man ran off with a joyous smile on his face. Natasha looked to the teen and asked with crossed arms, "I thought you were going to try to prove Aunt Wu wrong?"

"Yeah. All you did was make that guy believe in her prediction even more." Steve added with a smirk.

Sokka groaned before kicking another rock before it hit a duck. The duck gave annoyed squawk before flying over to the scowling Water Tribe teen and landing on his shoulders to harass his head. Sokka grunted as he tried to get the duck off and fell to the ground with an, "Aaah!"

Steve, Natasha and Aang watched as Sokka crawled away with duck continuously harassing him. Nat sighed and said, "I'll go help him."

Fortune-teller's place…

"And then you'll have your third great-grandchild before quietly passing away in your sleep." Aunt Wu quickly said as she read Katara's palm. She looked up to the Waterbender and asked, "Is that enough information for you?"

"Wow!" Katara said as she gazed at her palm. Then she was courteous and said, "Thanks, Aunt Wu."

She got up to leave, but stopped when another thought popped into her head she said, "Oh, wait. One more thing." Turning to the fortune-teller, she asked, "How warmly should I dress tomorrow?"

"You want me to do a reading for that?" Aunt Wu questioned with a hand over her temple. An over-enthusiastic Katara nodded with a huge grin.

Out in town…

"I don't care what Aunt Wu told you." Sokka shouted, still trying to prove Aunt Wu wrong. He looked at the person he was yelling at and said, "You have to take a bath sometime."

The dirty man in an orange robe just chuckled in disagreement. Then he walked off as Sokka facepalmed. Aang then tried to take Sokka's mind off of it and asked, "So, Sokka, you know some stuff about ladies, right?"

"Are you sure you should be asking him, Aang?" Nat questioned. A smirk formed on her face as she added, "You do know this is Sokka, right?"

Sokka ignored the spy as he placed an arm around Aang and repeated the word, " _Some stuff."_ Then acting like someone who knew what they were talking about he said, "You've come to the right place. What can I do you for?"

"Well, there's this girl." Aang started. Steve and Nat watched as Aang talked to Sokka. The Water Tribe teen looked over to a certain girl as she stuck her head from behind a barrel with a giggle. Sokka then said, "I think I know who you mean."

"You do?" Aang asked him. Then he said, 'And you're okay with it?"

Steve happened to look over to where Sokka had and saw Meng standing there and tried to say, "Uh, Sokka. That's not-"

But Sokka stopped the super soldier with a hand before telling Aang, "Of course I am. And to tell you the truth," Sokka said as he and the other two looked to see Meng waving her arms up and down as he said, "I've been picking up a subtle vibe that she likes you, too."

"She does?!" Aang asked in excitement as Meng had struck a pose. Sokka, mostly talking about Meng, said, "Oh, yeah, she's crazy about you." Then he advised, "All you have to do now is not mess it up."

"Well, how do I do that?" Aang asked. Steve said, "I wouldn't trust Sokka on this one, Aang."

But Sokka still gave his advice bluntly, "The number one mistake nice guys like you make- being too nice."

"So you think nice guys finish last." Natasha questioned with crossed arms and an annoyed look on her face. But this confused Aang as he said, "You can be too nice?"

"Aang, there is nothing wrong with being nice." Steve told him. But Aang was mostly in Sokka's corner as the teen said, "Yep. If you want to keep her interested, you have to act aloof, like you don't really care one way or the other."

"So in other words, like you most of the time." Nat said. This caused Sokka to look at the spy with a glare. But Aang was willing to try it as Meng walked over, "Well, okay."

"Hey, Aang, I was wondering…" Meng tried to say. But Aang started being aloof and said as he walked off, "See you later."

This surprised Steve, Natasha and Meng with the latter sighing in sadness. Sokka then said with slight pride, "Wow, that kid is good."

"Congratulations, Sokka." Nat said as she looked to him. She had a deadpanned look as she said, "You've just created a monster."

Fortune-teller's place…

"And you'll be fine, as long as you've got a scarf." Aunt Wu said as she pushed Katara out of the building. When they came out, it scared away a couple of ducks. Aunt Wu started to close the door while saying, "Bye-bye, now."

"Okay, okay," Katara said as she knew that she was getting on Aunt Wu's nerves, "but one more thing."

Aunt Wu looked a little nervous but placed her hand to forehead and said, "All right, what is it?"

"Should I eat a mango or a papaya for breakfast tomorrow?" Katara asked when she thought about it. Just to get it over with, Aunt Wu quickly said, "Papaya."

Then she shut the door on the Waterbender. But this caused Katara distress as she turned and kicked the ground while saying, "Oh, I hate papaya."

Aang, still acting aloof, was standing against the window and said, "Oh, hey, Katara. I didn't see you there."

"Hey, Aang." Was all that Katara said as she walked away. Aang then shouted after her, "That's okay. I'm busy with my own stuff."

But when she didn't look back, he just stood there until he was joined by a duck. He looked down to the water fowl for a moment until it gave an odd quack.

x

Katara soon found herself at a stand with fruits and begrudgingly said, "Ugh, papaya, please."

"So… papaya." Aang nonchalantly said as he walked up with Momo on his shoulder. Katara wasn't too thrilled about it as she said, "Uh-huh." Then she offered, "Would you like some?"

"You know me." Aang said as he picked up an apple, "I don't really care what I eat."

Katara was looking down before saying, "Okay, then." She turned and waked away as Aang took a bite out of the fruit, "See ya later."

When she was gone, the Airbender spit out the bad tasting apple. When he stood up straight it sounded like he had come to his senses by saying, "Maybe aloof isn't my style."

"Aang, let me give you some advice." Steve said as he walked up to his friend. Aang listened closely as he said, "Aloofness may work for some guys, but you're not one of them. My advice to is just be yourself, don't push into it and don't get caught with another woman."

Aang gave him a questioning look before he realized what he had said, "It's a long, yet it would be a helpful story."

"Oh! A panda lily!" A girl shouted from behind. Aang, Momo and Steve looked to see that a man had given the girl a beautiful flower. Aang looked to the lemur and super soldier with a smile, "Did you see that?"

The man and woman were hugging from their love when Aang literally came between them. A nervous Steve with Momo on his shoulder quickly walked over as Aang pointed to the flower and asked the shocked couple, "Excuse me, where can a guy find one of those things?"

Steve quickly reached and pulled Aang out of the two's arms with a scowl. Then turning to the couple he said, "Sorry about that. He just wants to impress a girl."

x

So after gaining the information from the man and letting Nat know where they were going to be, Aang, Steve and Sokka began the climb to the top of the volcano. The boys had nearly reached the top as Sokka was complaining, "I can't believe the two of you dragged me all the way up here for a stupid flower."

Aang jumped up to a high rock before looking back and said, "Not just any flower- a panda lily." Then he thought back to the couple and said, "Me and Steve saw it action, and boy does it work."

"I'm even willing to bet that it was a lot more helpful than acting aloof." Steve added as he jumped up to a rock below Aang's. Sokka was slowly climbing up behind them and made his own fact, "Flowers are fine once you're married, but at this early stage, it's critical that you maintain maximum aloofness."

"Okay, aloofness didn't get Aang any closer to the girl he has feelings for." Steve said with a raised eyebrow. Aang was also in a different direction as he said, "But my heart is telling me to get this flower," He looked up to the peak as he remembered the fortune aloud, "and Aunt Wu said if I trusted my heart, I would be with the one I love."

Sokka, not believing what he was hearing, was shocked, "What?" Then he deadpanned, "Don't tell me you believe in that stuff, too."

The Water Tribe teen continued to climb as Aang pointed out, "Well, Aunt Wu hasn't been wrong yet." Then he asked, "Why should she be wrong about love?"

"We did see that girl before us get the flower from Aunt Wu's prediction." Steve added. The two younger boys looked to him and said, "What? That girl was so excited about getting that flower, and it was within range."

Aang just turned and jumped up from boulder to boulder. When he was close to the peak, Aang saw the flower and pointed, "There, on the rim."

Aang made one final jump when he reached the flower with Steve landing right behind him. Aang stooped down to pick a flower from the peak, and a smirking Steve looked around the rim of the volcano. But when he looked to the center his face fell when he saw inside the crater. He touched Aang's shoulder as Sokka came up. Both boys looked to what Steve saw with a gasp. The entire crater was brimming with hot magma as Aang said in despair, "Oh, no." Aang said as he couldn't believe it, "Aunt Wu was wrong."

Then he dropped the picked panda lily down into the crater. The lily fell into the lava filled crater and burst into flame when it reached the molten rock.

The three kneeled down as they assessed their situation. Sokka then said, "Those people all think they're safe." Looking to Aang and Steve he said, "We've got to warn 'em."

"I couldn't agree more with you, Sokka." Steve said as they all stood. Aang then lifted his staff and turned it into the glider while saying, "There's no time to walk."

"Take Sokka on the glider." Steve told them. Running to the rim he shouted over his shoulder, "I'll be right behind you."

Aang nodded before taking Sokka's wrist and said, "Grab on."

Sokka screamed as he was pulled to the edge of the crater. Moving quickly, Sokka wrapped his arms around Aang and held on tight as the Airbender ran to the edge of the peak. As Aang took off into the air, Steve jumped over the edge and made his way down the mountain side. When he reached more smooth ground, he picked up speed and was running underneath the boys as they glided overhead. The two on the glider soared right into town with Steve racing through the forest on foot.

When all three entered the town, they ran to find Nat and Katara standing outside the fortune-teller building. Though there was impending danger, Aang still said in a friendly manner, "Hi, Katara."

"Now's not the time to be saying hello, kid." Steve said as he and Sokka joined them. While Nat did hear the tension in his voice, Katara was a little ticked off when she said, "Can you believe she won't let me in?" Then she tried to make a point with her hands on her hips, "And after all the business I've given her?"

"But she doesn't even charge." Aang pointed out as he and the other two looked a little lost. Natasha smirked as she walked over and said, "It seems our little Katara here caught on obsession of having her future told."

"I know, but still." Katara said as she stood at the door.

"Okay, as fascinating as this is, it is not the time for it." Steve said. Sokka finished by saying, "We have other things to worry about."

"Like what?" Nat asked when she remembered them running up to them. Sokka then said, "Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano."

"Oh, come on, Sokka." Natasha sighed as she had a feeling of where this could go. Katara was with her as she said, "Sokka, you tried to convince us she was wrong before. It's gonna take an awful lot to change my mi…"

She was cut off when an explosion rumbled from the top of Makapu. She said in despair, "Oh, no."

"For once, Sokka was right on the money." Steve said. They then moved to crowd where Sokka tired to warn the townsfolk, "Everyone, that volcano is gonna blow any second. Aunt Wu was wrong."

"Yeah, yeah," A woman put off as she and everyone in the village knew who Sokka was. Then she said, "we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, Mr. Science and Reason Lover."

"If you won't listen to him," Katara tried as she stepped forward, "maybe you'll listen to me." She sympathetically said, "I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother, Aang and Captain Steve Rogers saw the lava with their own eyes."

"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears." The man from before said. Aang, trying his Avatar card, jumped up to the roof of a building to the side and shouted, "Please listen to us. You are all in danger. And we have to get out of here. You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction." The crowd listened as he said, "You have to take fate into your own hands."

Another rumble shook the ground and startled the villagers. Sokka pointed to the top of Mount. Makapu and shouted, "Look! Can your fortune-telling explain that?"

The smoke from the volcano started to become worse every minute. A man next to Sokka scoffed and looked to the teen while asking, "Can your science explain why it rains?"

"Yes!" Sokka shouted. He stood firm as he said, "Yes, it can!"

"Now's not the time to be arguing about it!" Steve firmly said. But it did nothing as the crowd soon disbanded from the town square. Sokka looked down in frustration while Katara and the two Avengers began to worry. Aang jumped down form the roof of the building, and landed as Katara said, "They just won't listen to reason."

"Thank you, for stating the obvious." Natasha sarcastically said. Katara gave her friend a slight glare until Steve stood in between them and said, "Okay, that's enough, you two. We need to think of something that will get these people moving."

Aang had an idea and said, "But they will listen to Aunt Wu."

"I know." Sokka growled, "That's the problem."

"Well, it's about to become the solution. We're taking fate in our own hands." Aang said with a smile. Steve soon caught onto what he was saying and said, "I think I know what you're getting at."

Aang nodded as a mischievous smirk formed as he explained, "First I need to borrow Aunt Wu's cloud-reading book."

x

Steve, Katara and Sokka stood outside of Aunt Wu's fortune-teller's building to keep a look out. Sokka gave a smile to any passerby while Aang, Momo and Natasha snuck in from the roof. The two quietly made their way down the roof as Momo cooed and flew down. Aang used his airbending to slow his fall onto the balcony while Natasha hung on the edge of roof and swung herself down next to Aang. Then the three quietly entered from the door on the balcony. They soon found their way into the building and began searching for the book. While Natasha was searching elsewhere, Aang searched the fortune room. He looked in a little box as a watching Momo cooed again. He jumped down as Aang told the lemur, "Shh! We don't want anyone to hear us."

But Momo's ears perked as he looked to see someone coming. Aang looked back to see Meng standing behind him. Aang gasped in fright and stood up, thus scaring Momo. A quick blur entered through the open door and put Meng in a choke hold. Aang was quick to say, "Stop! It's Meng!"

Nat looked down to see that the girl was nearly starting to turn blue and released her with a quick, "Sorry."

Meng gave her a quick glare before turning back to Aang as he said, "Sorry about that. I didn't see you there and I'm sorry about the misunderstanding."

"It's okay, both of you." Meng said before getting to the point, mostly towards Aang, "You don't like me, do you?"

"Of course I like you." Aang said to Meng who had her head hung. Nat then said, "I'm thinking that she means for something else."

Meng proved the spy's point by saying, "She's right, but it's more about you don't like me like the way I like you."

"Oh," Aang said, now fully understanding, "I guess not."

Nat looked at the little girl in sympathy. Meng then said, "It's okay." Then she made a point by saying, "It's just really hard when you like someone, but… they don't think of you that way."

"I know what you mean." Aang said as he thought of Katara. He was caught off guard when she said, "She's beautiful by the way."

"Huh?" Aang questioned with a blush. Meng talked about Katara by saying, "That Water Tribe girl." The girl in the pink robe looked down when she said, "I can see why you like her so much." Then pointing out Katara's traits, "She's sweet, she's a Bender." She reached up to her hair as she said, "And her hair seems so manageable."

Then she pulled her down and played with it a little before it bounced back into place. Her face of gloom came back, but Aang tried to cheer her up by saying, "Don't worry. You're gonna meet a great guy who's gonna completely fall for you."

He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders before confidently saying, "I know it."

"I may not be a fortune-teller, kid." Natasha added, "But there is a guy for every girl."

"Thanks." Meng said as it did cheer her up a little. Natasha then remembered why they were here and said to Aang, "Uh, Aang. We need to find what we need and get out of here."

Aang, with Momo on his shoulder, and Natasha then started to walk out of the room when Meng called after them, "Wait!" Then reaching into her robe she asked, "Don't you guys want this?"

The two turned as she presented them with the cloud-reading book. Aang took the book from her before asking, "How did you know?"

"I've kind of been stalking you." Meng admitted while playing around with her index fingers. She offered a smile and a giggle to the two creeped out friends. Natasha raised a finger and said, "Kid, some advice, don't be that creepy the next time you see a guy you like."

"Duly noted." The still embarrassed Meng said with a nod.

"But, thanks. I guess." A blushing Aang said before he and Nat started to walk out of the room. As they made their way out the way they came, Nat whispered to Aang, "Despite that little phase, I see promise for her liking someone, especially if he's going to have big ears."

x

Appa grunted as he flew high over the village with Aang and Katara in the saddle and Nat steering on Appa's head. The Natasha then said, "So a recap, clouds are made of water and air." She looked up to the saddle and said with a knowing smirk, "so between the two of you, you should be able to bend them into any shape we need."

"That's the plan." Aang said with a smirk as Katara looked through the cloud-reading book. Looking closer the Waterbender said, "I found it- the symbol for volcanic doom."

"Just a quick question, is it the fluffy bunny thing?" Nat curiously asked with an eyebrow raised. They didn't respond as both Aang and Katara stood up and parallel with each other. Holding their hands close to their person, Aang and Katara mirrored each other's movements by holding their hands high and then low. Appa flew through a cloud as the two Benders continued to work their magic. Appa grunted as he stuck out all his legs and turned sideways. The bison then came through a small hole with a cloud trail, courtesy of the two Benders. The bison emerged from the top of the clouds as Aang and Katara waved their arms around to move the cloud how they needed it. They were able to move the cloud in the shape they needed.

x

Down on the ground, Sokka and Steve were leading Aunt Wu to podium in town square. Sokka then pointed up to the sky and said, "Aunt Wu, look.

"Something's happening in the clouds." He warned. Aunt Wu was baffled and said, "That's very strange. It shouldn't…" But it turned to terror with a gasp, and with a hand covering her mouth she said, "Oh, my!"

What they saw in the clouds was a skull with an open mouth. Steve leaned over to Sokka and said, "To be honest, I thought they were going to make the bunny."

Sokka just looked at the super soldier with a deadpanned glare.

x

Now that the threat had been made, the group of five stood at the podium as they devised a plan, "We can still save the village if we act fast." Motioning to the teen and super soldier standing on the podium, Aang then said, "Steve and Sokka have a plan."

"Lava is going to flow downhill to this spot." Sokka started off. Steve then picked up, "If we can dig a deep enough trench, we can divert the lava flow around the village and into the river."

"If any of you are Earthbenders, come with me." Aang said. One of the twins raised a hand and shouted, "I'm an Earthbender!"

"I'm not!" His sibling shouted with the other hand. Sokka then had a shovel in hand and said, "Everybody else, grab a shovel."

An explosion rocked the village, prompting Sokka to hold the shovel above his head and say, "Come on, we've got to hurry!"

"Let's move it, people!" Nat shouted as the people screamed and started to work.

The sun had just set as the Aang's group and the villagers began to work on the trench. They had just cleared away amount of soil in patches. Appa growled as he waited. The Earthbenders made a swinging motion with their arms to push some dirt and rocks from one side of the trench to the others. Villagers that couldn't Earthbend were either digging around the trenches or down in it while Appa carried a boulder bound by rope from one side to the other. Three Earthbenders stood near the entrance of the village, and swung their arms low to push some more dirt away to connect two trench patches. Sokka and Steve worked with some of the villagers at one section when another explosion from the volcano shook the ground. Sokka gasped as Steve looked to the mountain and saw that the peak was starting to glow. Sokka then gave some great advice, "Dig faster! Dig faster!"

He, Steve and any other villagers with shovels started to dig even faster while the Earthbending twin ran off to do his part. The boy ran as fast as he could and then with a jump he landed on his feet while swinging his arms low. With a push from his earthbending, the teen pushed the end of the trench next to the river. As they admired his work, Aang jumped over the trench before shouting, "Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when it's safe!"

The villagers or the team didn't need to be told twice as they high-tailed it out of the trench. Momo came in flying and cooing with a big rock in his back feet. The helpful lemur dropped it in a spot. Then he jumped onto Aang's shoulder before the Airbender took off running.

The volcano was really starting to turn into an inferno as ash starting to rain down. Steve, Katara, Aang, Sokka and Natasha stood at the trench before entrance and waited to see what would happen. None of them said anything as the glow from the lava started to appear through the forest. The lava came down the path to the entrance, burning the forest and when it touched the gate and the two stones beside it, they were set ablaze by the molten rock. The gate crumbled from the heat of the lava. The little gnomes that stood on opposite sides of the path were also set on fire from the lava when it reached them. Soon the lava reached the trench and flowed down into it. But even with the trench diverted to the river, the lava still started to rise. Katara then said, "It's too much. It's going to overflow."

Another explosion made them gasp and stumble. They looked up to see the fire's the volcano roar and crackle at the peak. Steve then said, "We need to go, now!"

Four of the five turned and ran for safety. Rocks were launched from the peak and crashed into the lava flow. Steve, Natasha, Sokka and Katara stopped when they noticed when Aang wasn't with them. The super soldier cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Aang, come on! We have to go!"

But a large rock landed in front of the Avatar and allowed lava to jump out of the trench. Deciding to take action, Aang ran towards the wave of lava with a grunt and shouted when he jumped high into the air. His friends watched as Aang gathered large amounts of air to follow his fists. Then he twisted it for a moment before packing it into a ball. Then landing as the lava came up, Aang slashed it with the air. When the lava was distorted enough, Aang took a deep breath before blowing a huge gust of wind. The wind caused the lava to rapidly cool and solidify. The roaring and crackling faded as the lava was turned into rock.

When it was over, Aang made circled his arms before calming himself while making his hands flat and gently lowered them. The four had watched in amazement to what they had seen as Sokka said, "Man… sometimes I forget what a powerful Bender that kid is."

This caught Katara off guard before saying, "Wait." She looked to her sibling and asked, "What did you just say?"

"Nothing." Sokka said with a shrug of his shoulders. Then he repeated what he had said, "Just that Aang in one powerful Bender."

"Was this from one of your fortunes?" Natasha asked. Katara nodded, "Kind of." Then she looked up to Aang while before realizing what Aunt Wu had meant, " suppose he is."

x

The next morning, the volcano had finally settled down. Two ducks sat on ne of the jagged tips of the cooled lava. The town was gathered in the square to see the seven off.

"By the way," A guilty Aang said as he handed Aunt Wu's back to her, "we kind of borrowed your back."

"So you messed with the clouds, did you?" Aunt Wu scolded as she took the book back. Both Aang, Katara and somewhat Nat looked guilty about it while Sokka pointed a finger at his sister. But Aunt Wu's anger turned into humor as she laughed before saying, "Very clever."

"No offense," Sokka said as he stood on the podium. He tried to make a point, "But I hope this has taught this has taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune-telling."

But the man from the previous day stuck up for the fortune-telling, "But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed, and it wasn't. She was right, after all."

Sokka ran up to the man and said with a glare, "I hate you."

Katara walked over and pulled her brother away from the man before saying, "It's okay, Sokka."

"He does have a point." Steve said walking up behind them. Sokka looked to the super soldier with a baffled look before Steve said, "She did say the town wouldn't be destroyed, and since we were here to save the town, _we_ were the reason that it wasn't destroyed. Plus she didn't say anything about the volcano erupting."

Sokka gave the older man a glare as Katara then pushed him away while saying, "Everything's going to be all right."

"Can I ask you a something?" Aang asked Aunt Wu. The fortune-teller looked to the Air Nomad and said, "Of course, honey."

"You didn't really see love in me and my friend's fortune, did you?" Aang asked as he looked down. He sounded a little sad as he said, "You just told us what I wanted to hear."

"I'll tell you a little secret, young Airbender." Aunt Wu offered. Then she looked up to the sky as she said, "Just as you reshaped those clouds, you have the power to shape your own destiny."

Aang smiled at her words before looking to Appa and the now boarding passengers as Katara waved and said, "Good-bye, everyone. It was so nice to meet you!"

"Take care." Nat said as she waved as well. Steve was about to put his helmet back on when he heard a few single girls of the village scream out to him. He looked down to see a few village girls waving to him. He gave them a sheepish smile and waved back. Aang used his airbending to jump high into the air and descended onto the bison's saddle as Katara said, "Take care, Meng."

Nat looked to the girl and said with a smirk, "Don't forget what I said, kid."

"Take care." Meng said as she waved the group off. As Appa turned away and left, Meng's cheerful smile turned into a scowl as she insulted Katara, "Floozy."

x

 **This story is dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

Author's Note: And with that, chapter fourteen is done. I do apologize for the wait, I had a bit of computer troubles. But now that I'm back I will keep my promise of finishing Book One as quick as I can. Also, expect some training in the next episode. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	15. Chapter 15: Bato

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. As I said in the last episode, there will be a little training in this episode. For those of you who wanted to see it, I can only hope that it meets your expectations. I just hope that I can make it interesting enough. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Katara, Sokka and their whole village watched in sadness as the men of their tribe sailed away._

" _Sokka, you're making a big mistake." Katara defiantly said. But Sokka argued, "No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad." He pointed at Aang and Steve before saying, "I'm protecting you from threats like them!"_

" _My mother's necklace!" Katara cried out in horror, "It's gone!"_

 _Prince Zuko picked up the lost necklace and held it in the breeze._

 _Zuko and the Winter Soldier had returned to the ship after their daring rescue. The Fire Nation Prince rubbed his head as he asked they weren't to be disturbed._

 _Steve, Natasha, Sokka and Katara watch as Aang used his Airbending to gather enough air to disrupt the flow of lava. Then he took in a deep breath before using his breath to cool the wave of lava._

x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Bato of the Water Tribe**

It was a sunny day along a coast of the Earth. The ocean water's gurgled as waves crashed against rocks and the beach. In the forest not far, birds sang as Aang picked up what appeared to be sword made from an animal. Aang looked at it in fascination as Sokka slid down behind him while saying, "Hey, look, a sword made of a whale's tooth."

"Let me see that." Sokka said as he swiped the sword away. As he held it with the tip pointed towards him, one wonders, a memory comes to mind.

x

(Start of Flashback)

 _The men of the Southern Water Tribe were loading supplies onto the boats as they prepared to go fight in the war. The wind was whipping across the tundra while Sokka held his club and watched as the men walked to and from the ships._

(End of Flashback)

x

Sokka held the knife while he remembered. Then he informed the Aang and Steve as the super soldier joined them, "This is a Water Tribe weapon." He turned and said, "See if you two can find anything else."

The three split up to keep searching for more Water Tribe things. The girls soon joined them and saw what they were doing. Katara asked while they searched through some bushes, "Did someone lose something?"

"No, we found something." Aang excitedly said. Sokka moved a little further downhill and found something under a small pile of leaves. Brushing the leaves aside, he found a broken arrow underneath. He picked up the projectile and inspected the tip by rubbing the broader sides. He found ash covering it and said, "It's burned."

"A burnt arrow would have to mean that something happened, right? Like a battel." Steve asked as he joined the Water Tribe teen. Sokka nodded before moving to a tree with scars and burn marks, then Sokka deduced, "Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of Firebenders." He looked down at the ground while continuing, "The Firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill."

The Water Tribe teen took off running down the hill. The rest followed him while Nat said, "Wow! I can't believe how well he was able to read that scenario."

"Me, too." Steve said in equal surprise. Sokka looked back and said, "I have my moments."

"Only when they're not embarrassing or frustrating." Nat commented. This caused Sokka to scowl at her before looking ahead. Sokka suddenly pulled farther from the group, down some rocks and stopped on the beach. When the other four caught up with him, Aang asked, "So, then what happened?"

"I don't know. The trail ends here." Sokka said with slumped shoulders. Steve looked along the beach in front of Sokka before saying, "The winds and tide must have erased any evidence of the battle here." He looked to Sokka and said, "I'm sorry we weren't able to find out more."

Katara looked to the right and spotted something and pointed, "Wait. Look."

Nestled against the shore was a boat with its blue sails tied down. Katara recognized it, "That's one of our boats."

"Huh," Nat said with a confused look, "from what Steve told me, you mainly used canoes for boats."

"That's for more of fishing." Sokka said as he and Katara moved towards the boat. Katara then asked her sibling, "Is this Dad's boat?"

"No," Sokka said as he rubbed the bow of the boat. Aang, Steve and Natasha all ran up to join them as Sokka said with a smile, "but it's from his fleet." He looked to his sister and excitedly said, "Dad was here."

x

On board his nephew's ship in Zuko's quarters, General Iroh was took a sip of tea as he sat across from his nephew and the Winter Soldier on his right. Then he sighed with content before saying, "See, you two. A moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being."

"I can actually feel it." The Winter Soldier said as he took a sip from his cup. Iroh looked to the assassin in surprise and said, "You are speaking a lot more than when we first met you." His smile returned and said, "I'm glad that you are more open to us."

The Winter Soldier didn't say anything as Iroh poured some tea into Prince Zuko's cup. But as the prince went to take a drink, something caused the ship to jolt and make him splash the tea onto his face and his hair fall before his eyes. The prince of the Fire Nation groaned as he wiped off the tea and pushed his hair back. Then he stood up as he went to go see what the problem was.

On the deck of the ship, five Firebenders stood at the ready as a giant creature with a woman riding it climbed aboard. As it came onto the ship, one of the soldiers shouted, "Watch out!"

When it was fully on deck the Bounty Hunter, dressed a black outfit, long fingerless gloves and her hair in a bun, carried a whip as she shouted, "Get back." Her ride walked forward as she told them, "We're after a stowaway."

His soldiers mirrored their stances as Prince Zuko, his uncle and the Winter Soldier walked up to confront her. Finding her words preposterous he said, "There are no stowaways on my ship."

The Winter Soldier had his weapon at the ready in case she tried something. The animal, though it didn't look like it was using its eyes, if it had any, was somehow able to sense the weapon with its nose and growled really loud. When the Winter Soldier cocked the barrel, the creature lunged at him. The assassin of Hydra rolled out of the way as the creature came down. But the creature didn't get the chance to continue as its rider shouted, "Easy! Stay focused."

The creature followed her orders and bent down. Then tearing into the metal of the ship, it ripped a chunk of it off. Then it threw the piece of metal towards the royals and the crew. Prince Zuko, Iroh and the soldiers all moved out of the way as the chunk of metal crashed with a clang into the tower. Then everyone who wasn't with the woman stood at the ready.

The animal stuck its head down into the hole, started growling and snorting. The beast used its powerful sense of smell to follow a light green trail in the cargo hold of the ship. It followed the scent trail from next to some barrels to some crates and finally to a barrel covered in whoever's scent. The barrel tipped over to reveal an Earth Kingdom run away. The man climbed out of the hole and started to make a break for it. The creature roared before racing after the man. Then lashing out its tongue, it struck the man in the back. The man's body clenched as he fell forward and slid to a stop on his side. Prince Zuko looked to the man in surprise and said, "He's paralyzed."

"Only temporarily." The Bounty Hunter said. He glared at her when she held him by the shirt while she explained, "The toxin's will wear off in about an hour," Then slinging the fugitive over her shoulder, she sounded happy as she said, "but by then, he'll be in jail, and I'll have my money."

She started to walk back to her ride. Prince Zuko was curious and asked, "But how did you find him on my ship?"

"My Shirshu can smell a rat a continent away." The Bounty Hunter said with a prideful pat to her pet. She climbed up on the Shirshu as Iroh said, "Well, I'm impressed."

Prince Zuko closed his eyes from his uncle's words. The Winter Soldier looked to him and asked, "With what, her pet or something else?"

Iroh only shrugged in response. The Bounty Hunter then cracked her whip to the animal's side, making it groan in pain before it leaped off the ship. The Shirshu snorted as it ran down the dock. Iroh, Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier watched from the side of the ship as Iroh raised a hand to his beard and said, "Very impressed."

Prince Zuko narrowed his eyes in irritation to his uncle's antics while the Winter Soldier looked at the older man with a raised eyebrow.

x

Night had fallen as the group camped out near the Water Tribe boat. While most of them slept, Sokka and Natasha kept watch with the former stoking the fire with a stick. The fire crackled while Aang slept on his sleeping bison's leg with Momo against his back, Katara across the fire in her sleeping bag, and Steve in between with a pack for a pillow. Natasha had propped herself against the Water Tribe boat while Sokka stared into the fire. He continued to think about when his dad had to leave.

x

(Flashback)

 _A younger Sokka walked towards the ships with a bundle in his arms. His face was decorated the same way he had it when he would battle against Prince Zuko years later. The wind howled as men continued to load the boats. One man had just handed a sack to a man on deck before looking back to see the younger Sokka coming. The man, Sokka's father, stopped Sokka before the boy could go any further_ , "Sokka."

"I'm coming with you." _Younger Sokka told him. But his father denied it by saying_ , "You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka. You know that."

"I'm strong, I'm brave, I can fight." _Younger Sokka tried to point out. Then he begged_ , "Please, Dad?"

 _His father placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said_ , "Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now, that's here protecting your sister."

"I don't understand." _Younger Sokka said as his eyes trembled. His father told him,_ "Someday you will."

 _Sokka dropped the pack before embracing his father. He was hugged back as his father said,_ "I'm gonna miss you so much."

 _Sokka sniffled and cried as he would miss his father equally as much. He buried his teary face into his father's coat._

(End of Flashback)

x

Sokka continued to stare into the fire as he remembered that day. Nat looked to the teen, noticed his look and asked, "You've been silent nor your usual self since we found the ship." Sokka looked to her as she asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

"It's just," Sokka started as he thought about his dad. Then he said, "Katara and I haven't seen our Dad in a while. And this boat here," He looked up to the boat for a moment, "It's kind of got me somewhat hoping."

"I may not know how you feel," Nat tried to offer him comforting wards, "but there may be a good chance that you two will see your dad, again."

Sokka smiled at her words before the sound of rustling caught their attention. Both the Water Tribe teen and the super spy stood up as the former took out his boomerang and shouted out into the darkness, "Who's there?"

A man stepped into the light and was wearing half of a Water Tribe outfit while his left arm and the left of his chest was covered in bandages. The man took a good look at the teen and said, "Sokka?"

Sokka recognized the man and asked with a squinting eye, "Bato?"

This roused the rest of the group awake while Sokka smiled at the familiar face. The three sat up as Aang asked, "Who the what now?"

"I thought I heard someone say 'Balto'?" Steve said as he was still half-asleep. Katara saw who it was and said with joy, "Bato!"

"Sokka, Katara." Bato said as the two ran up to him. Both siblings embraced their fellow Water Tribesman as he said, "It is so good to see you two."

He laughed before saying, "You've grown so much."

Steve, Natasha and Aang walked up with the Airbender bowing in respect, "Hi. I'm Aang."

Bato noticed the two Avengers and said, "And who might you two be?"

"My name's Steve Rogers." The captain said with a salute. Nat nodded before saying, "Natasha Romanoff, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"You two have got some interesting company." Bato said with a smirk to the siblings. Sokka backed away and asked, "Where's Dad?"

"Is he here?" Katara asked with equal hope. Bato then informed them, "No. He and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now."

Katara looked to a sullen Sokka as he looked down. A wisp of wind howled as it brushed past the group and made them gasp with a shiver. Even Bato cringed at the wind and then said, "Ugh! This is no place for a reunion." Wrapping his arms around Sokka and Katara's shoulders he said, "Let's get inside."

Then he looked back to the other five and motioned for them to follow. Appa groaned as they all followed Bato.

A little while later…

The group hadn't gone very far as Bato led them to an abbey in a valley. Bato then told them, "After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey." The group looked around to see women in white garments walking about in the night. The group walked towards a trio of women as Bato said, "The sisters have cared for me ever since." Then walking up to a woman wearing beads and a different head covering, Bato said to her, "Superior," The woman looked back and turned as Bato said, "these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar along with these two heroes. I found them by my boat."

The abbey looked to Aang and said in respect, "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence." Then she looked to Steve and Nat and said, "And to hear of heroes such as yourselves, I offer the same welcome.

"Thank you." Aang said. Momo trilled as Aang, Steve and Natasha all bowed and the Airbender said, "It's truly an honor to be here." Then he offered, "If there's anything me or my friends…"

"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka asked the man, cutting off Aang. Aang and Nat looks to him in surprise while Steve raises an eyebrow. Sokka turned his head to sniff at whatever the smell was. Bato pointed over to a few pots and said, "The sisters craft ointments and perfumes."

"Perfume?" Sokka asked. Then he pointed to Appa and said, "Maybe we could dump some on Appa," Then he held his nose and with a fanning motion with his other hand he said, "because he stinks so much." Then he said with a smirk, "Am I right?"

Sokka coughed as everyone just gave him looks. Bato then commented, "You have your father's wit."

"So, that's why Sokka's humor is about as dry as kindling." Nat commented. Steve, Aang, Bato and Katara all started chuckling at this. Sokka just looked to the spy with a scowl before a small smile creeped onto his face.

Bato then led the group to a door and pulled it back to reveal a room. Sokka and Katara smiled at how much it looked like the Southern Water Tribe as the younger sibling said, "Bato, it looks like home."

The room was filled with things from a tent, to fur pelts on the floor, a few weapons on the walls, and had a fire pit in the middle. Sokka and Katara walked into the room and looked at it all as the former said with a smile, "Everything's here, even the pelts."

"Yeah." Aang said as he looked at a red pelt with black stripes with Momo in his arms. He was a bit uncomfortable as he said, "Nothing's cozier than dead animal skins."

Momo chittered as he sat in Aang's arms before jumping down to the floor. He came close to a bear pelt with its head attached and curiously touched it by swiping at it. After a few swipes the pelt's teeth clicked shut, causing Momo to shriek in fright before running over to Natasha and climbing up to her shoulders. The spy looked to the lemur and scratched him behind the ears while saying, "Don't worry, Momo, it can't hurt you."

The lemur cooed from the scratching. Katara removed the lid from a pot over the fire and looked inside. She gasped when she recognized it and said as Bato sat down, "No way! Stewed sea prunes?"

"Help yourself." Bato offered. Then he looked to Aang and the Avengers and said, "There's plenty for everyone."

Steve and Nat sat down and waited as Katara poured a few bowls. Sokka scoffed before saying, "Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things."

"I guess they really help your colon, huh?" Nat cracked. They ignored the joke as Katara handed out the bowls of stewed sea prunes. Aang looked at the bowl with a questionable look and sniffed it. He held it away with a groan, "Ugh!"

Steve and Nat did the same, but they took a different approach. The two Avengers ate the stew without any words. Aang sat down a little to the back and placed his bowl on the floor as Steve and Nat sat closer. Momo ran up to the bowl and started to eat. Katara was curious as she asked, "Bato, is it true you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?"

"It was your father's idea." Bato said as he told the story. Steve then asked, "I'm guessing that it wasn't all that exciting?"

"In some ways it wasn't. But Hakoda had just dragged me along." Bato said with a smile. Then he added, "Well, the hippo did most of the dragging."

"Hey, I ride animals, too!" Aang exclaimed with a smile. Then he became dramatic as tried to tell a story, "One time, there was this giant eel, and I…"

But he was cut off when Sokka asked, "So, who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?"

Aang glared at the teen from the back while Bato chuckled before asking, "You knew about that?"

"Everyone does." Katara said with a knowing smile. Steve looked between the three and asked, "Something's telling me that this is an entertaining story."

"You'd be correct." Sokka chuckled. Aang was curious and asked, "What's that story? I'd like to know."

"It's a long one, Aang." Sokka rudely said with a wave. Aang frowned as Sokka said, "Some other time."

The Airbender looked down in the back as Katara and Sokka continued to talk with Bato. Katara's smiled was still bright as she recalled, "You and Dad had so many hilarious adventures."

"Why don't you tell us about them?" Nat said. Bato then put in, "Not all of which were hilarious at the time, but everything's funny with hindsight."

"I can remember a few scraps me and Bucky got into when he were younger." Steve said as he thought about the kinds of stories they were talking about. This got Bato curious and he asked, "Who is this 'Bucky' you speak of?"

"He's an old friend of Steve's. They were once in an army together." Katara answered. Bato was about to ask more questions when he looked over and said, "Aang, please put that down." The group looked back and saw the Airbender wearing some kind of animal head on his own while he had his posture like the animal. Bato then said, "It's ceremonial and very fragile."

Aang took the animal head off of him and placed it back on the wall. He walked over to the corner and sat down as the group had turned back to Bato as Sokka asked, "Was it you or Dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran-Gran that you were a Water Spirit?"

"Your dad wore the octopus," Bato recalled. But he had mischievous grin as he said, "but I did the spooky voice."

x

In another part of the Earth Kingdom, a tavern was roaring with noise. Outside the tavern, the Bounty Hunter's Shirshu lay in wait for its rider. It looked up when a man came crashing out of a boarded up window from the second floor and landed with a loud thud. He groaned in pain as the Shirshu laid its head back down.

The crowd continued to roar as they watched the Bounty Hunter arm wrestle with a man wearing a white Gi and a red headband. Both of their faces were focused as the man grunts from trying to best the woman. The woman looks calmly yet sternly as the man begins to sweat. The crowd watches in anticipation as three individuals walk into the tavern. Prince Zuko brushed past them while saying, "Out of my way. Stand aside, filth."

"He means no offense." Iroh said as he walked through. Then he added, "I'm certain you bathe regularly."

"Just keep walking." The Winter Soldier said while ushering the retired general.

They both came up behind Zuko as he said to the woman, "I need to talk to you."

"Well, if it isn't my new friends," The Bounty Hunter sarcastically said. Then she jabbed by saying, "Angry Boy, Uncle Lazy and Metal Hand."

While Iroh wasn't offended by this as he chuckled, it clearly got to Zuko and the Winter Soldier as they glared at the woman. The man she was arm wrestling with still grunted as he was trying to beat her. Then deciding that enough was enough, the Bounty Hunter slammed the guy's hand down on the table. The victory brought on cheers and laughter from the crowd. Those who were betting on the man looked down in defeat. As those in the crowd threw money to the woman, Prince Zuko said, "Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back."

"Oh, I'd love to help you out," The Bounty Hunter said as she gathered up the copper pieces. She had a smile as she said, "but I'm a little short on money." Then she yelled out to the tavern, "Drinks on me!"

This caused even more cheers from the tavern, "Yeah!"

Just as the Bounty Hunter was about to take a sip from her cup, Prince Zuko grabbed her wrist and said, "Money isn't what I had in mind."

"And what if I don't feel interested?" The Bounty Hunter snidely asked. The Winter Soldier sat down across from her and presented her with his right arm and said, "Then how about a wager; you versus me. You win, you don't have to anything. But if I do, then you listen to what he has to say."

The crowd all looked at the challenge as they said, "Oooh!"

The Bounty Hunter looked about the tavern and thought it over. She didn't want to appear weak by not accepting the challenge, so she said, "You're on."

She placed her right hand on the table and both her and the Winter Soldier gripped hands. Without turning, the Winter Soldier said, "If someone would start the match." Then with a small nod of the head, "Please."

Iroh took charge and looked between them as he said, "Are you both ready?" Both hands tightened as they said nothing. And Iroh shouted, "Begin!"

The Bounty Hunter and the Winter Soldier soon began to try and topple the other. Neither side gained ground on the other, nor did they break eye contact. They just remained staring into each other's eyes with a glare as they struggled against each other. The crowd watched in anticipation as some yelled while others just watched. The stare down didn't intensify or falter from either as they kept up the little match. But soon, the Winter Soldier decided to end the match by slamming her hand down on the table. The crowd gasped at the outcome as the Winter Soldier stood up from his seat. Then with a nod of his head to the door did she get up and start walking with the two royals. As she walked, an arrogant fool leaned over to her and said, "Looks like there is someone who can take you, eh?"

She was about to turn and punch him when the Winter Soldier placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. He gently pushed her aside to stand before the man. The man's arrogance left him as the Winter Soldier grabbed him by the shirt and then threw him out the boarded up window behind him. The man screamed as he flew through the wooden boards. The Winter Soldier continued to walk, leaving behind a confused Bounty Hunter.

A moment later they were standing outside. Insects buzzed as they flew close to a lantern. Prince Zuko lifted up the Water Tribe necklace and said, "I need you to find someone."

"What happened," The Bounty Hunter said as she stood in front of her pet. The crowd inside roared as she asked, "your girlfriend run off on you?"

"It's not the girl I'm after." The prince said as he held the necklace closer. He said, "It's the bald monk and two special individuals she's traveling with."

"Whatever you say." The Bounty Hunter told them while leaning against the Shirshu. Prince Zuko then offered, "If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for."

She laughs before turning to climb on the Shirshu's back and said, "Forget it."

The Winter Soldier quickly grabbed her arm, but before he could say anything she said, "Ah, ah, ah. Your deal was that I had to listen to him, not help him out."

Releasing her the Winter Soldier silently cursed himself for not thinking it through. But as she was about to get on the animal's back, Iroh quickly put in, "Plus, we'll pay your weight in gold."

This caught the Bounty Hunter's interest as she stopped. A smirk formed on her face as she walked up to Iroh and said with a poke to his belly, "Make it you weight, and we got a deal."

Iroh laughs at this before saying, "You got it."

The Bounty Hunter swiped the necklace out of Zuko's hand and walked up to her Shirshu while saying, "Get on."

As the three got on, the Bounty Hunter moved to the Shirshu's snout and held the necklace. The beast gave off an eerie rhythmic breathing as it took in the scent. The Shirshu snorted as it got a good whiff of the necklace. Then the Shirshu turns its head to find the trail. It looked over at some mountains but saw a red scent trail. Then it shifted its sense of smell to the stairs of the tavern and sensed a green one before smelling over the lake and smelled a blue trail. Then it found the trail it was looking for as the purple trail led off into the woods. The Shirshu growled as it had the trail.

The Bounty Hunter was about to get on when she noticed that there wasn't enough room. Sitting on the Shirshu's back, it was Iroh, then Zuko and finally the Winter Soldier. Then crossing her arms she said, "All four of us up there isn't going to work. We _need_ to do something different."

The Winter Soldier sighed before getting off. Then he said to the Bounty Hunter, "The three of you ride, I'll follow on foot."

"Really?" The Bounty Hunter said skeptically. Iroh looked down and said, "You'd be surprised at what this young man can do." Then he looked to his nephew and said, "Wouldn't you agree, Prince Zuko?"

"I do agree on that much, Uncle." Prince Zuko said. Then he impatiently asked, "Now if you don't mind, can we get a move on?"

The Bounty Hunter smirked as she hopped onto the Shirshu's back. Then with a flick of the reins the growling beast took off running with the Winter Soldier racing after it.

x

Back at the sister's abbey nearly all had turned in for the night. Inside his room, Bato told Sokka and Katara, "There's something I should tell you kids."

Aang and Momo were resting in the corner while the others listened as Bato said, "I'm expecting a message from your father."

"Really?" Katara asked in excitement as she leaned forward. Sokka was equally excited as he asked, "When?"

Nat and Steve looked to each other as they admired the sibling's wish to see their father again. Aang opened his eyes and looked over to the group as Bato said, "Any day now. Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point."

Aang sat up in the corner as the man said, "If you wait here until the message arrives," Aang watched with confliction in his eyes while Bato promised, "You can come with me to see your father again."

"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad." Sokka said as he thought about the prospect of seeing their dad again. He clutched his head as he felt his mind being blown, "That would be so incredible!" The teen looked to his sister and said, "Katara..."

"I do really miss him. It would be great to see Dad." Katara admitted as Aang looked away. Bato then asked, "It's been far too long, hasn't it?"

"Seeing a loved one after so long from being at war does feel that way." Steve admitted as he started to think about Peggy. Bato looked to him and asked, "You've got someone on your mind?"

"Yes, sir." Steve said with nod. Aang stood up and quietly walked to the door as Bato admitted, "I'm not sure when word will arrive," Aang and Momo quietly walked out of the room without any of them noticing, "but when it does…"

Aang shut the door behind him and didn't hear what they said next. He and Momo walked down the path through the forest.

Back in the room, they were still talking about it when Steve said, "But there is a small problem with it."

"It would be great," Sokka said as he knew what Steve was talking about. He looked down as he said, "but we can't."

"Yeah, we've kind of got other arrangements." Natasha said with a sheepish shrug. Then Sokka told their father's friend, "We have to take Aang to the North Pole first." He looked to the two Avengers and said, "Plus we have to find their friends."

"Even if we did had time to wait for the message," Katara added, "who knows how far we'd have to travel. We don't have time for a long detour."

"So, we are sorry if it kind of bums us all out." Natasha said. But Bato didn't seem upset as he said, "I'm sure your father would understand, and be proud that his children are helping the Avatar and a group of heroes."

x

Aang had walked all the way back to the beach and was now sitting on the bow while hugging his knees. His overshirt flapped in the cool night breeze. He felt hurt as he thought about them leaving and said to himself, "I can't believe Sokka and Katara would leave me."

The sound of neighing broke him from his thoughts. The Airbender looked up to see an Earth Kingdom soldier riding up to him on an ostrich horse. The soldier panted as he came up to the boat as he looked up to Aang and said, "I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe."

"Uh… I know Bato." Aang said with a smile. The soldier handed him a parchment while saying, "Make sure he gets this."

Aang reached down and took the parchment. The soldier then took off on his ostrich horse. Aang then unrolled the map and his eyes grew wide when he saw what it was, "It's the map to Sokka and Katara's dad."

He looked to Momo as the lemur looked over his shoulder and then back to the map. Not wanting the two Water Tribe siblings to leave, Aang's face became determined as he crumpled the map in his hands. Momo yelped as Aang balled the paper in his hands before tucking it into his overshirt. Then he sat there on the bow, thinking about what he should do.

x

It was a little later when Aang returned to the abbey. Aang slid the door open to find that the group hadn't really moved from their spots. Momo watched from upside down as Aang stood in the doorway. Then raising his arm he acted casual by saying, "Hey, everyone." Then he slouched a little before saying, "Sorry I was gone so long."

"Oh, hey, Aang." Katara said as she looked to her friend. Then she said, "I didn't notice you left."

"But you really should have told us that you were going out." Steve lightly reprimanded as Aang walked over to them. Aang tried to act casual as he said, "Sorry about that, but now I'm back." Then he tried to change the subject by saying, "Sure could go for some delicious sea prunes." Then sitting down he picked up his bowl from earlier and shoveled some of it while going, "Mmm, yum, yum." Then he tried to show that he really enjoyed it by going, "Mmm…" But then coughs up some as he couldn't truly stand it before going back to his earlier expression, "Mmm…"

This caused everyone else to look at the Airbender with odd looks. Steve then turned to Bato and said, "You know, I've only seen some moves from a Water Tribe warrior like Sokka. I was wondering if I could see what a fighter with a little more experience could do."

Nat looked to him and said, "I kind of want to get in a little sparring session, myself."

"That is, if you wouldn't mind or it didn't aggravate your injury." Steve added. Bato thought it over before looking over the two from his tribe and said, "There is a small part of me that wants to see how far the two of you have come since I've been gone."

"That is if the three of you don't mind." Steve said to the kids. Sokka and Katara looked to each other before the elder sibling said, "It probably wouldn't hurt too much."

"Yeah." Katara agreed. Then she added, "Plus, it might kill a little time until the message arrives." She turned to Aang and said, "That is if you don't mind, Aang."

"M-Me." Aang stammered. Then he held up his hands and waved it off, "Oh, I don't see any problem with that." He nervously chuckled before saying, "I don't mind it all."

"Then I guess were all in agreement." Katara said with a smile on her face. Nat had a smirk on her face as she suggested, "I'd say sometime around noon tomorrow." Then looking between the group she asked, "That sound good with the rest of you?"

They nodded in agreement.

x

The next morning at the abandoned mountain city, birds chirped as they pecked along the ground. The herbalist kneeled next to a broken wall to search for herbs. But the peace and serenity was disturbed by a creature's growl. The Shirshu bellowed as it came running up to the herbalist. Miyuki was currently rubbing against the herbalist, but started hissing at the approaching group. The herbalist turned to see the Shirshu, its occupants and the Winter Soldier standing behind her. Then she casually said as the Shirshu started sniffing again, "Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?"

"We're looking for someone." Prince Zuko told the herbalist. She sounded worried as she said, "I hope it's not Miyuki." Then she looked down to the cat and questioned, "Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?"

The cat meowed in protest before backing herself behind the herbalist. The Winter Soldier then said with an arched brow, "I think your cat is pretty safe, ma'am."

"The Avatar's been through here." The Bounty Hunter said as the Shirshu continued to sniff. Then she said, "Let's keep moving."

She gave a flick of her whip, the creature growled before taking off. The Winter Soldier took off after the beast again.

x

It was a few hours until noon at the abbey the next day. Before their training exercise, Aang was currently feeding Appa in one section of the abbey courtyard. The young Airbender bent a small pile of hay over to the bison by using his airbending to throw it over his person. The bison began to eat it as Aang calmed his airbending stance with lowering both hands in front of him. But it had caused the crumbled up map to fall out of his over shirt. Aang looked down to the paper as a voice called out, "Aha, I caught you."

The superior of the abbey picked up the wadded up map and scolded Aang, "You should be ashamed of yourself." Aang looked really guilty as he had his two index fingers pressed together. But then he was caught off guard, "Littering in the courtyard."

He took the wadded up paper in his hands and was quick to say, "I'm sorry. I'll take care of this."

Then he gave a bow of respect. Only when she walked away did he stick the wadded up map into his overshirt. Then, just as he was about to walk off he heard Nat say from behind, "Hey, what you got there?"

The sudden arrival of his friend caused Aang to fall on his face. Natasha looked to the Airbender in surprise and said, "Aang, are you okay?"

"I-I-I'm fine." Aang said as he quickly stood up straight. Nat was a little weirded out by Aang's behavior and said, "Well, it's almost time for the training session." She moved in front of him to ask, "But I'm curious to what you just put into your overshirt?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aang coolly defend himself. Natasha suddenly knew that something was off with Aang and leaned closer and accused, "You're either hiding or up to something, young Arrow Head. And now that I think about it, you were acting a little off last night."

"Oh, relax, Nat. I told you I'm fine." Aang nonchalantly said with a wave as he walked off. Nat softly glared at the Airbender before following him.

x

The group had come to a spot in the woods where they couldn't hurt anyone. On the way here they had agreed that they would be in teams of two. The clearing was roughly around fifty feet in diameter. The six of them stood in a circle as they bowed in respect. While Aang and Katara had their stances at the ready, Steve had his shield at the ready before pulling his helmet over his head while Nat twirled a stick that she found lying around. Finally, Sokka and Bato both held a Water Tribe club while Sokka held his knife and Bato a spear. A short distance away a leaf broke off of its branch, signaling for them to start.

Steve and Natasha rushed towards the center of the clearing as Bato and Sokka did the same. Aang held a hand high before bringing it down to create a vertical air-slash. Both nonbending teams jumped back as the air-slash rushed past them. Aang jumped high with his foot held up, but before he could bring it down, Sokka tossed his boomerang which in turn caused Aang to lose his focus. As the Airbender fell back to earth, Natasha came up beside the Water Tribe warrior swinging the stick, but Sokka was able to counter it with his club. He maneuvered to the side to where he smirked. This confused her as she didn't notice the boomerang heading straight for her. But it was knocked aside by Steve's shield, causing the boy's smirk to fall. But this distraction bought him a trip as Nat sweep kicked his feet from underneath. He grunted when he hit the ground. Bato came to his rescue by flinging the spear between the two. With Sokka down for the moment, the two engaged in battle.

Meanwhile, Steve had just caught his shield when Katara sent a stream of water at him. The water slammed into the shield and sent Steve skidding backwards. The super soldier ducked and rolled out of the way of another stream but had to jump back when Aang came in with a diagonal air-slash. Jumping up and forming the Air Scooter underneath him, the Airbender maneuvered himself to speed around Steve to keep his focus on himself. The tactic worked for Aang as Katara came in from the side and sent a water whip at Steve. The super soldier barely had any time to counter as the water weapon struck the side of his helmet. Steve stumbled from the blow and then launched his shield at the young Waterbender. Katara formed a shield with the water she had in an effort to stop the shield, but the vibranium tore through and nearly collided with her. A quick run and catch by Aang stopped it from hitting her. Though it was a sparring match, Aang still acted as a friend and tossed the shield back to Steve.

The grateful soldier smiled before looking over to Nat's situation. He saw that she was being attacked on both sides by Sokka and Bato. He thought of a way to help her out. He shouted to the two kids, "Bet you couldn't knock me down together."

Aang and Katara seemed to take the bait and brought their two attacks together in spheres of air and water. The two then unleashed their attacks towards Steve. Using his super soldier strength he jumped over the attacks and turned in midair and shouted, "Nat, heads up!"

The spy took a glance and saw it coming. Jumping out of the way, the attacks caused Bato and Sokka to move out of the way. Steve and Natasha both met up a distance away from the other four and came up with a new plan. Steve then asked, "What do you say we switch? I'm getting an odd feeling that this is take out the other worlders for some reason."

"I don't see any harm in that." Nat smirked before running past Steve. The super soldier looked to the two Water Tribe warriors. Sokka gulped in fear and squeaked, "Bato, I have a bad feeling about this."

The older Southern Water Tribesman didn't say anything, but had a feeling that Sokka might be right. Steve then came running at the two with his shield raised. Sokka looked to his elder who gave a nod of encouragement. The two yelled out war cries and charged in return at the super soldier.

Natasha rushed at Aang and Katara and dropped down to slide underneath a water whip from Katara and clung to the ground when Aang created a huge gust of wind. When the wind died down, Nat threw the stick at Aang as a distraction. Aang caught the stick in an Air Sphere, but it left him open to a sneak attack from the spy. Jumping over both him and a rush of water, Nat pulled Aang's shirt over his head, causing his world to go dark. Then quickly spinning him around, she threw Aang towards Katara. The young Waterbender yelled in fear and dropped her stream of water. She was able to catch him and keep him from falling. The two looked to see Natasha coming. Aang and Katara looked to each other and nodded. Forming an Air Sphere in his hands, Aang shot it towards the spy. Natasha jumped over the Air Sphere, but it allowed Katara to bend her water where the spy would land. Then with a quick breath, she froze the liquid. Nat gasped when she landed and slid across the frozen surface. The spy of S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to steady herself before jumping onto more stable ground. When she landed, Katara was able to bend the ice back into water and held it up to her side as Aang readied his bending stance. Nat smirked as she said, "Not bad, kids. Not bad."

Steve was blocking the strikes from the clubs as he moved from one Water Tribe warrior to the other. He parried Sokka's club strike before stepping on the weapon and following up with a roundhouse kick. Sokka recoiled from the kick as Steve batted Bato's spear to the side. Steve was so focused on Bato at the moment, he didn't anticipate or expect Sokka to jump him from behind and wrap his arms around his neck. The distraction allowed Bato to get in a good kick to Steve's gut. It was Steve's turn to stumble from the blow. But he was impressed by how they were able to hold out.

As they went at Nat, she was able to land a light kick to Aang's side. But while he wasn't physically hurt by it, the waded up map fell out of his overshirt again. He gasped and looked to see if any of the others noticed it before quickly airbending the waded up into his hand. He quickly placed it back under his shirt, and hoped that no one noticed it. Unfortunately, Nat caught a glance of Aang's action before having to focus on dodging Katara's attack. She figured that it would have to wait until later.

The sparring session lasted for half an hour. The groups would change from one team to the other as they went on. It ended when all six of them sat down in the middle of the clearing, trying to catch their breath. Sweat ran down their faces as they sat down. As they rested from the excursion, Bato started to chuckle to himself. All attention looked to him as he said, "I've fought against a few good Firebenders from time to time, but I have never encountered anything like the two of you." He turned to Aang and said, "Or like the Avatar here."

The three of them gave small smiles to the compliment. Bato then turned to Sokka and Katara to say, "And I'm sure that if your father were here now, he'd be just as impressed as I am."

Sokka puffed his chest out as he swelled with pride while Katara's cheeks blushed from the praise. Bato then said, "Let's had back to the abbey and take a few minutes to relax. Then I want to show you something."

"Okay, then." Steve said as they all stood up. They turned to walk to the abbey. As the two Avengers took the rear, Nat leaned to Steve and quietly said, "Steve, Aang's hiding something."

"Hmm?" Steve asked as he didn't understand, "How can you tell, Nat?"

"Well, just before coming out here," Natasha explained, "I saw something fall out of Aang's overshirt. And then I saw it again, not to mention the scared look on his face when it did."

"Okay," Steve nodded. Then he thought, "While we have a little time at the abbey, we'll talk to Aang about what's been going on with him."

Nat nodded in agreement as they continued to walk. Nat looked to the young Airbender with an arched brow. They made it to the top of the hill that a clear view of the abbey.

x

After they had passed through the gate into the abbey, Steve and Natasha came up to Aang and the latter Avenger asked, "Hey, Aang, can we see you for a quick sec?"

"Actually, I was planning to tell Sokka and Katara something." Aang said. Steve lightly chuckled and said, "Well, it's gonna have to wait."

Before Aang could say anything, both Steve and Natasha grabbed him by the arms and pulled the yelping Airbender away. The three Water Tribesman look to the trio, but Steve waves them off and said, "We'll catch up in a moment."

Katara looked to Sokka who just shrugged before they followed Bato across the abbey grounds. Steve and Natasha bring Aang into one of the empty rooms of the abbey. Releasing the Airbender into the room, Natasha slid the door shut before giving his overshirt a good yank. The action caused the wadded up piece of paper to fall out for the third time that day. Before he could pick it up, Steve was already reaching down and picked it up. Un-wadding it, Steve got a good luck at it while Nat came up behind him. As they looked the parchment over, their eyes grew wide while Aang started to grow nervous. Natasha looked to Aang and arched a brow as she questioned, "Is this the intel report for Bato?"

A guilty Aang hung his head and nodded. Steve then asked, "Aang, why would you do this?"

"I don't know…" Aang said as he tried to think of what to say. Then he said, "I guess that I was afraid that Sokka and Katara would leave to find their dad when this came. I was scared that they'd leave and I'd, or we'd be on our own."

"Aang, we get it." Steve said and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Aang looked up to the Avenger as the super soldier said, "I'm pretty sure that Sokka and Katara wouldn't leave you just like that."

"And I know for a fact that they care a lot about you and our journey." Natasha added. Aang nodded and said, "I'll tell them as soon as I can." But then his face fell and asked, "But what if it goes the other way?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Steve said. The three then left the room.

x

A little while later, the six of them came up to Bato's boat. The Water Tribesman then explained its history, "This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father."

As Aang walked to the bow of the boat with his head towards the clouds, he looked down and looked in surprise at what he saw. Remembering what Steve and Nat had said to him, Aang was still reluctant to tell them just yet. With a slight step forward, Aang sent a small blast of wind to cover the tracks up with sand. Then turning back to the group he put his hands behind his back and started to whistle nonchalantly. As he passed by the two Avengers, they noticed his odd behavior and gave him arched brows as they knew he had done something. Sokka then asked Bato, "Is this the boat he took you ice dodging in?"

"Yup," Bato said with a proud smile, "Yup, it's got the scar to prove it." Bato then turned to the elder Water Tribe sibling and asked, "How about you, Sokka? You must have some good stories from your first time ice dodging."

Sokka's face fell as Katara told the man, "He never got to go." Then she lightly reminded, "Dad left before he was old enough."

"Oh. I forgot," Bato said as he realized, "you were too young."

"What's ice dodging?" Aang asked as it made him curious. Steve was curious as well and asked, "Is it some kind of sport or something?"

"No, it's more of like a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members." Bato explained. Steve nodded and made a silent 'oh' as he understood. Bato then said, "When a young man turns fourteen, their dad takes you…" Bato stopped and a smirk appeared on his face and suggested while placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder, "You know what?" The teen looked up as Bato said, "You're all about to find out."

All six friends had smirks on their faces as they knew wear this was going.

x

Back at Aunt Wu's village, the people were adjusting to after the volcano's eruption. It seemed as if it would be quiet day, but people screamed as the Shirshu came running down the street where Aunt Wu's building was on. The Shirshu was about to follow the crowd but stopped and jumped on top of a building and turning towards Aunt Wu's place. Aunt Wu, who had been standing outside the door and more than likely knowing that they would come, calmly stood still as they came closer. The Winter Soldier ran up to them as Prince Zuko questioned, "Why are we stopping?"

"Because the girl must have spent a lot of time here." The Bounty Hunter said, knowing full well why her Shirshu was acting this way. Zuko looked annoyed as he then said, "We have no time for this."

All three looked to him with shocked expressions as he grabbed the necklace from her and jumped off. The Winter Soldier moved to intercept him, grabbed his shoulder and said, "I don't think that this is a good idea, Prince Zuko."

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Zuko snapped and shrugged his hand off. The Fire Prince moved in front of the Shirshu and held the necklace to its snout. The Shirshu sniffed before growling and rearing its head back. Zuko knew what this meant and did a spin as he ducked when the Shirshu lashed out its tongue. Then jumping back to his feet he glared as he snapped, "Hey, watch it!"

The Winter Soldier crossed his arms while the Bounty Hunter smirked and Iroh started to laugh. The Bounty Hunter then said, "Oh, look, he likes you."

"Care to hear your fortune, handsome?" Aunt Wu asked the laughing Iroh. Iroh stopped laughing and looked down to her to say, "At my age, there is really only one big surprise left, and I'd just as soon leave it a mystery."

Though disappointed not being able to work her magic, Aunt Wu respected his decision. The Winter Soldier walked up to Iroh and asked, "I honestly thought you were going to flirt with her. She seemed really interested in you."

"So did I." Prince Zuko said as he got back on. But Iroh just shrugged as the Bounty Hunter gave a snap of the whip. The Shirshu roared and reared up like a horse before setting off again. It ran and climbed over a building before running off into the forest with the Winter Soldier right behind them.

x

Back at Bato's boat, the boat was floating out on the sea. Katara and Sokka stood at the mast while Aang, Steve and Nat stood at the sides. Bato controlled the rudder. The group stood on the deck as Bato explained, "Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust."

"Three qualities that Sokka needs to work on." Natasha joked. This caused the teen to scowl with a glance while the others slightly chuckled. Bato then said, "In our village, it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs."

"How are we supposed to ice dodge without ice?" Sokka asked as he looked to the older Water Tribesman. Bato then pointed as he said, "You'll be dodging… those."

They all looked to see giant rocks jutting up from the water. The four looked to each other with worried glances. Moving away from the rudder, Bato then said, "Sokka, you steer and call the shots."

Sokka seemed nervous before Steve walked over and said, "Don't worry. You've got the makings of leader."

Appreciating his words, Sokka took a deep breath before moving to the rudder. Bato then placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and said, "Lead wisely." Then he looked to the girls and said, "Katara, Natasha, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave."

Looking to Steve and Aang he said, "Captain, Aang, the two of you will control the jib." He pointed to the ropes as he said, "Without your steady hands, we all go down. Your position is about trust."

Aang blinked a couple of times before saying, "I know that." Pointing to Steve he said, "He knows that. Why wouldn't we know that?" Pointing to himself he said, "I'm the Avatar, I know about trust." Then pointing to Steve he said, "He's got lots of friends who trust him."

Aang then looked away while crossing his arms. Then he glanced to Bato before looking away again. Both Steve and Natasha knew what this was about but didn't say anything. Bato then moved to the front of the boat as he said, "For this to be done right, I cannot help." He sat down cross legged as he said, "You pass or fail on your own."

The five looked to him before looking to each other. The Water Tribe boat drew closer to the rocks with each passing moment. Sokka then ordered, "Aang, Steve, ease up on the jib! Katara and Natasha, steady!"

The four did as they were told as the boat continued to get closer. A wave crashed against them and soaked the five. Sokka then pushed the rudder to the right as he ordered, "Aang, Steve, less sail."

Then he grunted as he pulled it the other way before shouting, "Girls, give them some room."

Aang and Steve pulled on the rope before the boat sharply turned to the right. Bato slightly tipped as the ship turned. Sokka strained as he kept his grip on the rudder as it sailed through the rocks. They came up upon a trio of rocks. Sokka gasped before he moved his right hand to the left and ordered, "Aang, Steve helm to lee. Helm to lee!"

"What does that even mean?" Aang asked to anyone that understood. As Sokka moved the rudder to the left. Steve then said, "I believe he means to make be able to go left."

All three strained to make it turn to the left. All six held on tight as the ship sharply turned left and dodged the rocks. They soon made it past the rocks and turned to the right again. As they were out of danger for the moment, Sokka then congratulated, "Great job, guys!"

The four smiled at the great job Sokka was doing. Natasha looked in front of them and said, "Uh, guys, I think we have a small problem."

They all looked to see that the path was blocked by a lot of jutting rocks. Bato stood back up as Katara then told her brother, "There's no way through!"

Bato looked and turned back to the group as Sokka said with a determined fist, 'We can make it!"

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself," Bato said. Then he suggested, "maybe we should…"

"Hang on!" Natasha said. She looked to the teen and guessed, "I think the Water Tribe man has a plan, right."

"Hmm." Sokka nodded. Then he looked between the four and said, "Natasha, Steve keep your hands on those ropes." Pointing to Aang he said, "Aang, I'm going to need air in that sail." Aang nodded as Sokka pointed to his sister he said, "Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks." He then said with a stern gaze, "Now!"

The two Avengers kept hold of the ropes while Aang blasted air into the sails and Katara waved her arms up and down as she bent the water around them. A wave formed underneath them as they came closer to the rocks. Sokka looked really nervous as it came to do or die. He groaned in anticipation while holding his fists closed. The wave of water carried the boat over the rocks and the boat came out on the other side without a scratch. The waters on the other side of the rocks were much calmer as the boat drifted. Sokka gave a relieved sigh as he fell against the rudder. He looked to the group as they all looked relieved at how well that worked. Then they all looked to him with smirks as well.

A few minutes later, the boat was once again tied to the shore and the group stood a few feet from it. Bato stood before the five and had a bowl of paint in his hand. Dipping two fingers into the paint he said, "The spirits of water bear witness to these marks."

He moved to Sokka and said, "For Sokka, the mark of the wise." He painted an upside down half circle with a dot underneath it. Bato was looked really proud and he said, "The same mark your father earned." Moving to the girls he said, "For Katara and Natasha, the mark of the brave." He painted a crescent moon on their foreheads, "Your courage inspires us."

Then moving to the last two he said, "For Steve and Aang, the mark of the trusted." He painted an upside down curve on their heads. Aang's eyes grew wide at the word trust as Bato said, "You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe."

"I can't." Aang said, knowing fully well that he didn't truly deserve it. Though three of the five gave him odd looks, though two knew why, Katara had a smile as she said, "Of course you can."

"No." Aang said as he wiped his forehead. He backed away as he said, "You can't trust me."

"Aang…" Steve tried to reason. But a confused Katara then asked him, "Aang, what are you talking about?"

Aang looked at them with guilty eyes and then removed the waded up intelligence report from his over shirt. He handed it to her as he said, "A messenger gave this to me for Bato."

Katara took the paper and waded it. Aang then tried to tell them, "You have to understand," Sokka looked over her shoulder and his eyes went wide, "I was afraid…"

"This is the map to our father!" Sokka shouted as he grabbed hold of it. He glared at Aang and angrily questioned, "You had it this whole time?! How could you?"

"Sokka," Steve said and placed a hand on the teen's to say, "Aang didn't mean for this to down like this?"

"Wait?" Sokka said as he turned to Steve and Nat as his eyes narrowed. His eyes narrowed and he questioned, "You both knew too. This is why you wanted to speak to Aang in private, isn't it?!"

All three of them looked a little guilty from it. Sokka then said, "Well… you all can go to the North Pole on your own!"

"Sokka." Nat tried to say, but Sokka just turned and walked away. Holding the map in his hand he said, "I'm going to find Dad!"

"Now, Sokka, I think you should…" Bato tried to say. But Sokka didn't listen as he looked back to his sister and asked, "Katara, are you with me?"

Katara, not knowing what to say at first, looked to Aang, Steve and Natasha. But then she thought about how they were her friends and they had kept a secret like this from them. Aang looked to her with hopeful eyes that she would stay. But she closed her eyes as she said, "I'm with you, Sokka."

She turned and walked to her brother while Aang looked down in shame. Steve and Natasha both stood by Aang as they watched the siblings and Bato walk off.

x

Back at the abbey, both groups were preparing to leave. Sokka and Katara had just removing there stuff from Appa and were collecting the rest of Bato's stuff from the abbey. The Water Tribesman were loading up while Aang, Steve and Nat were either on or beside Appa. When he had helped with Katara's pack, Bato and Sokka walked to the abbey entrance while Katara lagged behind. She turned to those next to Appa as a bird chirped. Aang looks up as she walked over and said, "Good luck to you guys."

"Okay. You, too." Aang returned. Katara walked up to the two Avengers and embraced Nat. The only female Avenger sighed as she patted the girls head. When she released her, Nat then said, "Hope you guys stay safe."

"You guys as well." Katara said as she looked between them. She gave Appa one last rub on the nose that earned a lick from the bison. Katara then walked to the gate to catch up with Sokka and Bato as they waited for her. When she joined them, all three Water Tribesman walked together into the woods.

The Superior walked up to the remaining five and Aang said, "Guess we should be moving on."

"That would be best." The Superior said. The two Avengers climbed up on Appa as Aang gave the reins a tug. Appa grunted as he moved towards the gate too. The bison walked out the gate and stopped at the crossroads. Momo chittered as he scurried over to Appa's horn as they all looked down the path that their friends were taking. Aang looked down and he said, "I'm an idiot, you guys."

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid." Natasha said. Steve and Aang looked to her with deadpanned expressions before the latter tugged the reins into the opposite direction.

x

It was an hour or so later and it was really quiet since the groups had left. The sisters were currently making more of their perfume when a galloping startled them. They all looked to the gate just as a giant beast burst through the giant doors with a snarl. Superior gasps in fright from arrival of it. The Shirshu bent down and sniffed while snarling. The Winter Soldier came in behind them and looked about. The Shirshu's scent sense showed the trail with an eerie hiss. He turned his head as he followed the scent trail with growls and looked back to the main gate. The Shirshu gave a roar and the Bounty Hunter knew what that meant, "We're getting close. We're near the end of the Avatar and Avenger's trail."

"I should hope so." The Winter Soldier muttered. The Bounty Hunter just cracked the whip again and the Shirshu took off running once more. Before following after them, the Winter Soldier looked slightly winded and said, "Cause all this running is tiring. And I'm a super soldier."

The Winter Soldier then took off after them. They ran out of the abbey and turned to the left towards the forest.

x

The walk for the three Water Tribesman was a slow one as they walked along. As they were climbing up a hill, a wolf howled in the distance. They all stopped at the sound. Katara looks to Sokka and says, "That wolf sounds so sad."

"It's probably wounded." Sokka guessed. Bato shook his head and turned around to say, "No. It's been separated from the pack." The older Water Tribesman then remembered as he said, "I understand that pain." He looked down as he felt that same feeling, "That's how I felt when the Water Tribe warriors had to leave me behind."

Sokka thought about what Bato was saying and his thoughts drifted to Aang, Steve and Natasha as Bato said, "They were my family, and being apart from them was more painful than my wounds."

Sokka then thought back to when he was younger.

x

(Flashback)

 _Younger Sokka watched as the Water Tribe ships sailed away to join the war. He continued to watch until they had vanished from sight. Sokka still felt sad that his dad had to leave, but understood._

(End of flashback)

x

Sokka had been staring back down the path. Katara, worried about him, asked, "Sokka?"

Sokka's shoulders slumped before he straightened up and made a decision, "We need to go back."

He turned around and wished, "I want to see Dad, but…" then he admitted, "helping Aang and the Avengers is where we're needed the most."

"You're right." Katara agreed, knowing that it was the right thing to do. Bato walked over to them and said with a proud smile, "Your father will understand." He placed a hand on both their shoulders and said, "And I know he's proud of you."

"Thanks, Bato." Sokka said. Bato then said, "I know where to go from here." Taking out the map, he said, "Take this, in case you want to find us."

He placed it into Sokka's palm and promised, "I'll leave a message at the rendezvous point."

With that said, the three Water Tribesman turned into the opposite direction.

x

Aang, Appa, Momo, Steve and Natasha were getting ready to leave as they were beside Bato's boat. Aang looked to them and said, "Looks like we're on our own, guys."

"I told you that it would be a waste to see if they would come back." Natasha reminded. Aang huffed before tightening the reins one more time. They were surprised when Superior came running up to them. She looked frightened as she said, "Avatar! Avengers! You all must leave!"

Aang looked annoyed and said, "Okay, I get it, everybody wants me gone."

"Ahem." Natasha said with an arched brow. But then she said, "A group of people came to the abbey looking for you."

"Who?" Aang asked, making them all worried. Then she described them, "A fierce-looking woman with a horrible monster, a short, slightly chubby man, a man with a metal arm and an angry young man with a scar."

"Zuko." Aang angrily said as he recognized them. They all knew that he and the Winter Soldier were close. The Superior then said, "The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you."

"A necklace?" Aang asked as he was confused. Then all three's eyes went wide as they realized, "Katara!"

"Get on." Nat said to the Superior. She quickly climbed on and seated between the two Avengers. With a snap of the reins, Appa jumped into the air and took off back to the abbey.

x

On their way back to the abbey, Sokka and Katara were calmly walking down the path. Sokka stopped when he heard the sound of galloping footsteps nearby. He held out a hand to stop Katara while scanning for where the noise came from. They jumped back as a giant creature jumped onto the path behind them with a snarl. They moved out of the way when the creature jumped at them with a roar. It chased them up to a wall. Sokka stood protectively in front of his sister.

The Shirshu's scent sense pointed right at Katara. The Winter Soldier jumped onto the trail as well as the Bounty Hunter said with a smirk, "So this is your girlfriend." Then she joked as Zuko jumped off, "No wonder she left. She's way too pretty for you."

Ignoring her, Prince Zuko stood before them and then asked, "Where's the Avatar?"

"And the Avengers?" The Winter Soldier added. Sokka was defiant and said, "We split up. They're long gone."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Prince Zuko asked, clearly not buying it. Smirking, Sokka enjoyed it as he said, "Pretty stupid." Then grabbing his sister's arm he shouted, "Run!"

The two then started to run off, with the Shirshu turning towards them. They didn't get far as the Winter Soldier landed before them. He shook his head, not letting them go this way. Then the siblings were struck from behind by the Shirshu's tongue. Both Sokka and Katara fell to the ground with a grunt as their bodies tensed up. Prince Zuko then questioned, "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We could go back to the abbey and question the women there?" The Winter Soldier suggests. Sokka and Katara widened their eyes at that. The Bounty Hunter clicks her tongue, making the Shirshu move towards the siblings. As the Shirshu sniffed his victims, she then explained, "It's seeking a different scent, perhaps something that the Avatar or those others held."

The Shirshu touched Sokka's pack and caused the scroll to roll out of it. He moved his nose to it and sniffed. His scent sense led back down the hill towards the abbey. Prince Zuko then said to the Winter Soldier, "Help me load them up. We might be able to use them as leverage if need be."

The Winter Soldier picked up Katara and slung her over her shoulder while Zuko did the same with Sokka. They placed them onto the Shirshu's back behind Zuko and tested to see if they would fall off. The Bounty Hunter cracked the whip and the Shirshu took off running with the Winter Soldier right behind.

Down at the abbey, the sisters had just fixed the gate as best as they could. Outside the gate, the Winter Soldier ran ahead and jumped onto where he could stand on the Shirshu's head. The Bounty Hunter glared and questioned, "What are you doing?"

"Battering ram." Was all the Winter Soldier said as he raised his left hand. The Shirshu snarled as the Soldier's metal hand busted through the wood. They came back in, causing the sisters to shriek and run. The Shirshu moved to the center of the courtyard and kept his nose to the ground to sniff. Then it started to turn in a circle as it followed the trail. This confused three of them as Zuko questioned, "What's it doing? It's just going in a circle!"

"Unless…" The Winter Soldier said. The Shirshu kept sniffing the ground before pointing him muzzle upward. The trail led to the Avatar as he circled from above. Aang dived down towards him and kept out of range as the Shirshu's tongue snapped by. The Winter Soldier struggled to keep a good grip on the creature's fur as he thrashed about trying to strike Aang out of the sky.

As the Shirshu started to rise up on his back legs, Cap stood a good distance away from him while having his shield at the ready. Nat came running up to him and he used his shield as a springboard for her. She jumped on the shield and he used it to launch her at the beast. Natasha soared through the air and flew directly at the Winter Soldier. She used her feet to kick him off of the Shirshu. The Winter Soldier grunted as he rolled across the ground. Natasha quickly jumped off as the Bounty Hunter cracked her whip at her. But that proved to be a mistake as it caused the Shirshu to rise up even more. All five passengers fell off as he walked backwards and fell over. The Winter Soldier, the Bounty Hunter and Prince Zuko got up on their feet to fight as Katara happily said, "Guys!"

The Bounty Hunter cracked her whip at the Shirshu and commanded, "Up!"

The Shirshu quickly stood back up on its feet and snarled as it was battle ready. She jumped onto the Shirshu's back and charged at Aang. Aang landed in the middle of the courtyard and looked to see them incoming. They got really close when Appa came charging in with a headbutt to the Shirshu's side. They crashed into the wall. Appa came close to the wall growling. Another crack of the whip and the Shirshu was up once again.

But then suddenly he squealed in pain as he was shocked from behind and fell to the ground again. The Bounty Hunter glared as she turned her head to Nat who stood battle ready. The Bounty Hunter jumped over her fallen ride and tried to strike Natasha with the whip. The spy backflipped out of they way and the whip struck the ground.

That left Appa dealing with the Shirshu as he stood up on his feet again, Aang dealing with Prince Zuko and Steve against the Winter Soldier. Aang looked to the others but then gasped when Prince Zuko walked up before creating a fire as he clenched his fist. Steve looked to the Winter Soldier as he pulled out a knife and twirled it in his nonmetallic hand while holding his artificial hand at the ready. All eight combatants stood at the ready.

Two of the sisters pulled the paralyzed Sokka and Katara out of the way while Iroh kept his distance. Prince Zuko started it off by twisting his arms around before throwing a fire ball Aang's way. Aang quickly twirled his staff around to disperse the flames and then shot his hand forward to release an air ball. Both benders grunted as they moved out of the way and unleashed their attacks. Prince Zuko sent another fire ball while Aang used his staff to send a vertical airstrike. Zuko spun around the attack and sent a horizontal wave of fire. Aang jumped out of the way and ducked when Prince Zuko came in with a diagonal high kick. Aang jumped out of the way again as Zuko tried to use a flaming sweep kick on him. When Aang landed he tried to thrust his staff at Zuko, but the Firebender knocked it away.

Natasha and the Bounty Hunter kept each other's distance as Natasha shot her electro stingers while the Bounty Hunter cracked her whip. The Bounty Hunter dropped down and twirled her whip to trip Nat up. Natasha jumped up over the swinging weapon and landed with a roll. The whip came at her once again, but Natasha allowed it to wrap around her arm before tugging it. The Bounty Hunter kept a firm grip on as Natasha continued to pull. Both girls strained to pull the weapon from the other's grip. But Natasha smirked to the Bounty Hunter, confusing the other woman before the spy of S.H.I.E.L.D. released the whip. The Bounty Hunter cried out as she fell back. Natasha's smirk fell as she raced towards her opponent.

Appa and the Shirshu growled as they circled each other. Then with a leap, the Shirshu came close to biting Appa's foot. But Appa jumped back before twirling around and tried to use his broad tail to hit the other animal. The Shirshu was barely able to dodge the tail attack as it sailed right over him. Then with an opportunity presented, the Shirshu jumped again and landed on Appa's back. The Flying Bison started to buck to throw the offending animal off of him. The Shirshu struggled to keep a grip and had to jump off when Appa tried to crush it by rolling over him.

Cap blocked a knife swipe with one arm before trying to hit his frenemy in the face with his shield. But the Winter Soldier ducked backwards from the attack and delivered a kick to Cap's chin. Captain America tumbled across the ground before rolling onto his feet again. Then sliding his shield off his arm, he threw at his friend. The Winter Soldier knocked the incoming projectile away with his metal hand, but it was meant to be a diversion as Cap came sliding with his legs stretched out. He caught the Winter Soldier's legs and twisted his own. The Winter Soldier went down with a grunt. Cap quickly got back up and jumped over his downed enemy to recover his shield. But as he reached for it, the Soldier grabbed him from behind and tossed him into a broken piece of the gate. Cap groaned as he got back up on his feet, but had to quickly grab the Soldier's hands as he held the knife in one.

Aang saw that Steve was in trouble and jumped over another fire fist from Prince Zuko. When he landed he sent a huge gust of air at the super soldiers. The blast of air knocked the Winter Soldier off of Cap. The star spangled super soldier breathed a sigh of relief before getting back up.

Aang then dodged more fire waves from Zuko as he moved behind the Fire Prince. He ducked under a flaming high kick before moving back in front of Zuko. Then he launched an air wave at his opponents head. But Zuko ducked and tried to sweep Aang's feet from under him with a kick. Both Air and Firebender moved in a full circle before blasting a wave of fire and air at the other with a yell. It resulted in a large explosion that sent them flying through the air. Aang and Zuko landed on opposite roofs with the latter landing on his front and the former landing on his back with groans of pain. Natasha looked up to where her friend landed and cried out, "Aang!"

But this left her open to an attack as the Bounty Hunter threw the whip forward and it wrapped Nat's neck. The spy grasped it as it cut off her air supply. This time it was Cap that saw that his friend in trouble. After ducking under a punch from the Winter Soldier's fist, he kicked the Winter Soldier away. Then taking aim with his shield, Cap sent it flying. The shield spun as it flew and struck the Bounty Hunter in the back of the head. She groaned as she grasped where it struck her head. But her slack on the whip allowed Nat to remove it from her and she caused it to loop around the Bounty Hunter.

The Bounty Hunter grunted as she tried to free herself. Keeping a firm hand on the whip, Natasha then used her strength to pull the Bounty Hunter along. It caused them to spin before Natasha let it go. The Bounty Hunter went stumbling into the wall and fell unconscious. A screeching Shirshu struck the wall next to her and flopped down next to her. Looking to where it fell, Nat ran over to the shield and threw it at the Winter Soldier as he was once again engaging Cap. As it flew towards the brainwashed man, Nat sent an electro stinger after it. The Winter Soldier was able to catch the shield before it hit him, but the electro stinger struck him in the side. The Winter Soldier yelled as he was electrocuted. Cap took the advantage and sweep kicked his foe. The Winter Soldier fell to the ground with a grunt while Cap took his shield and ran to his friend.

Iroh ran over to the unconscious Bounty Hunter and knelt down beside her. Gently touching her face he was able to wake her. She slowly opened her eyes before she glared up at the sky. Then getting back up, the Bounty Hunter cracked her whip again and ordered, "Come on, get up!"

The Shirshu, who had his tongue hanging out, got back up with a snarl. She jumped onto its back and rushed back into the fray while leaving a smiling Iroh while he had his hands in his sleeves. The Shirshu ran for Appa as he had Natasha on his head. With a snap of the reins, Natasha had Appa charging forward. When he was close enough, Natasha shouted, "Now!"

Appa then leapt into the air and avoided the collision. The Bounty Hunter pulled the reins to stop the Shirshu and he turned on a dime as Appa sailed over him. The Shirshu lashed his tongue out and struck Appa in one of his back legs. Appa landed on the opposite side of the courtyard and slid to a stop. Suddenly, the Bison felt the effects and started to weaken. Nat immediately noticed this and asked, "Appa, are you okay?!"

Appa only growled his response before dropping onto the ground. Natasha then cried out, "Appa!"

The Bounty Hunter smirked while Nat glared at her. Quickly taking one of her stingers out, Nat looked down at Appa and said, "Sorry about this, big guy. But maybe it can give you a jump start."

Then with a yell she plunged the stinger into Appa's shoulder. The Flying Bison growled as the effects were neutralized and stood back up. Then he growled up at Natasha. She held her hands up defensively and said, "Sorry. But I needed you back on your feet."

Appa shook his head of the lingering effects and charged at the Bounty Hunter and her Shirshu again. The Bounty Hunter snapped her whip again and her Shirshu ran forward as well. The two animals came together with a clash of heads. But it was in Appa's favor as it sent the Bounty Hunter flying through the air. But as she fell to the ground, she gave a swipe of the whip to Appa. He growled in pain and Nat looked back with a glare to her. The Bounty Hunter groaned as she landed on her back. She quickly rolled out of the way as Appa's foot came crashing down. The Bounty Hunter looked at the spot where she once was, and Natasha said, "You mess with my friend, and you mess with me."

Then with a huge leap, the spy came at the bounty hunter with a kick.

Aang groaned as he started to get back up, as did Zuko. The Fire Prince struggled to get back up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see the Winter Soldier lending a hand. Prince Zuko smirked as he took it. The two looked at the other side of the roofs and quickly moved. Aang was starting to prop himself back up when he looked and saw Cap lending him his hand. Aang smiled and took it. But when he looked behind the super soldier he gasped. They saw Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier rushing at them. The Firebender raised his right hand while the Winter Soldier came up right behind him. Then with a quick motion of an upward slash, Zuko sent a vertical wave of fire at them. Aang and Cap moved out of the way.

The Winter Soldier tried to punch at Aang with his metal arm, but Cap grabbed it and Aang blasted him back. Cap then tried to strike Prince Zuko with the shield, but the knife suddenly bounced off of it causing Cap to look to the Winter Soldier. Prince Zuko then did a sweep kick to knock Cap off his feet. Cap fell down with a grunt, but before Zuko could throw a flame Aang turned his body horizontal on one leg and kicked a blast of air. Zuko tried to slow down as he flew backwards but the Winter Soldier moved in front of him. Prince Zuko then jumped over his ally and kicked a fire ball at them. Aang unleashed a blast of air at it and the two attacks canceled each other out. Aang then jumped over Zuko before going high and sending a blast at him. Zuko jumped high to as Aang went down and sent a stream of fire from a spin kick at the Airbender. Aang landed on his back and spun his arms fast to create a shield of air that protected him. Then Aang jumped back up and sent a blast of air at Zuko. Cap moved as the attack sent the Fire Prince flying backwards and he hit the wall with a pained grunt. Cap ran at the prince while Aang looked back and ducked when the Winter Soldier tried to throw another punch. Aang created a small tornado around the Winter Soldier to limit his mobility. With him immobilized, Aang tried, "Bucky, you got to listen to me! You don't have to do this!"

The Winter Soldier responded by throwing his left arm through the swirling air and grabbing the Airbender by the shirt. Aang gasped before throwing a blast of air at the Winter Soldier. Prince Zuko looked up to see Cap coming at him with his shield raised to punch him. But he moved out of the way and jumped to the ground. Cap was about to follow when the Shirshu jumped onto the roof. He blocked the tongue with his shield and ducked when it tried to scratch him. Jumping over the beast's head, Cap then jumped back down to the ground. The Shirshu looked to Aang and charged at him. Aang gasped and ran past the Winter Soldier. Said soldier ducked down as the Shirshu rushed past him.

Appa watched as his friend was being chased before turning around and using his tail to create an air slash. The attack came too late and destroyed the section of the roof. Down on the ground, Sokka and Katara were still paralyzed as Sokka said with a smile, "I'm starting to get some feeling back."

Katara smiled as he was able to raise his arm. Then suddenly, debris crashed down on him. As he was slightly buried in the wood, Sokka muttered, "Ow."

Aang kept running and jumped into the pool of water that was in the courtyard. The Shirshu was quick to follow him in and they disappeared with a splash. They came out the other end and the Shirshu rocketed past him when Aang jumped out of the way. The Shirshu landed on the roof and turned with a roar as it moved out of the way from another attack by Appa.

Elsewhere, Iroh was currently looking at a trio of perfume bottles. He picked on up and uncapped it. Placing some on his palm and taking a quick sniff, he likes the fragrance of the perfume. Capping it again, Iroh looks about to see if anyone is looking and places the bottle in his sleeve. Then he gave a slight smile as he looked about.

Aang leapt backwards to the fountain in the courtyard as Prince Zuko and scooted around the fountain. Prince Zuko threw a fire fist at Aang but thanks to his Airbender training, Aang was able to spin while dodging to the left. He kept moving out of the way as Zuko kept throwing flames. Aang ducked down when Zuko threw another stream of fire. When he came back up he noticed Katara's mother's necklace hanging from Zuko's wrist. Taking his stance, Aang then said, "You've got something I want."

Aang leapt forward and moved to where he had his hands and feet pressed against the fountain's posts when Zuko shot another stream of fire. Aang changed his position each time Prince Zuko shot a fire ball. Having had enough of this, Prince Zuko then starts braking the support beams. He brakes the first two before clearing the entire thing with a high kick. Aang lands on the rim of the stone fountain and Zuko jumps on too while delivering a flaming kick. Aang then tried to him with an air slash, but Zuko was able to dodge it. The two attacked each other as they maintained their balance on the rim. The two then tried to trip the other up while they moved about on the rim. As he had a chance, Aang made for the necklace, but Zuko moved his hand out of the way. The Fire Prince then then did a flaming side kick but Aang stepped out of the way. Aang tried to step on Zuko's foot, but the prince moved it out of the way. Aang then used his right foot to hook the necklace's string and moved it back before jumping over a double fire fist from Zuko. Prince Zuko fell forward as Aang used him to jump into the air. As he flew through the air, Aang twisted to where he could reach his foot and grab the necklace. He grabbed it just as he fell into the well. As he disappeared into it, Prince Zuko yelled as he jumped on the rim while sending a stream of fire down. Suddenly, a spout of water blasted him into the air with a scream.

Aang then came flipping out of the well and landed in a pose as the water rained down around him. Prince Zuko came landing with a thud and he groaned in pain. He got up with a growl and ran straight for the Avatar. Aang jumped out of the way as Prince Zuko kept throwing fire balls with punches and kicks. When he tried to run after him, Appa growled as he got in the Firebender's way. But before Appa could attack, the Shirshu's tongue grazed his nose.

He looked at the offending animal with a roar. But like before, he could feel the effects of the Shirshu's venom. The Bounty Hunter smirked as she cracked the whip, telling the Shirshu to lash out again. The Shirshu did just that and lashed its tongue out and whipped Appa's face twice. Appa fought to stay up, but the toxins were already working and he fell onto his side with a thud. The Shirshu turned with a snarl and took off after one of the three.

Beside the wall, Sokka and Katara were struggling to get back up. The Superior came up to them with a special vile of perfume. She stuck it under both their noses. As they took a whiff, they both groaned at how strong it was, "Ah!"

"That thing sees with its nose." Sokka deduced about the Shirshu while flexing his wrist. An idea formed in his head and he said, "Let's give him something to look at."

"The perfume?" The Superior suggested. Sokka nodded with a smirk. Sokka, the sisters and the Superior started to move the giant jugs of perfume out into the courtyard.

Aang, Nat and Cap were surrounded in front of a wall by the Shirshu with the Bounty Hunter on its back, the Winter Soldier and Prince Zuko. Prince Zuko cut them off when they tried to run to the left and the Shirshu's tongue blocked them off when they tried to run to the right. They couldn't go through the middle because of Hydra's weapon. They all ducked behind the shield when Zuko then took another shot.

The sisters, Superior and Sokka then pushed the giant jugs over and the perfume spilled onto the ground. Katara held both of her arms behind her before spinning them in circles and creating a wave of perfume. She moved it over the attacking for and dumped the perfume on their heads. The Shirshu growled as he shook the perfume off of his head before roaring. But it was too late as the perfume started to mess with his sense of smell. His scent sense started to fog up as an assortment of colors clouded his special kind of vision. The Shirshu twisted his head and roared as it became completely blind by the perfume. Not knowing who was in front of him, the Shirshu whacked both Prince Zuko and the Winter Soldier in their faces with its tongue. They both grunted as they fell to the ground. Iroh watched as they fell and looked up to see that the Bounty Hunter was trying calm her friend down. He was shocked when the Shirshu his tongue at her and it too paralyzed her. Iroh ran forward crying out, "June! No!"

He caught her as she fell backwards and they both hit the ground. The Shirshu ran blindly around before crashing into another pot of perfume next to the gate. It reared up and scratched at the roof of a building before climbing over and running off into the forest.

When the danger had passed, Aang walked over and retrieved his staff. He picked it up as the others joined up with him. Katara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder while the other three looked to him with smiles. Aang smiled back as he looked between all four.

On the ground, both Zuko and the Winter Soldier looked over to the former general and the former said, "Uncle? I didn't see you get hit with the tongue."

But Iroh looked to them and placed a shushing finger to his lips. He gave a satisfied smile while having a woman in his arms. June's eyes snapped open as she gave an annoyed glare to her predicament.

x

Later that evening as the group flew away on Appa, Aang glanced back as he mainly asked the siblings, "So, where do we go?"

"It's your choice." Steve added as he removed his helmet while he and Nat sat with the siblings. Katara and Sokka smirked to each other before the former said to Aang, "We're getting you to the North Pole." Then looking to the two Avengers she said, "And we're going to help you find your friends."

"Yeah." Sokka agreed. All three looked to them in surprise as he said, "We've lost too much time as it is."

"Don't you want to see your father?" Aang asks as he climbs up to the saddle. Nat nodded in agreement and said, "We totally get it if you want to go and find him."

"Of course we do, you guys," Sokka said as he knew how much he and Katara wanted to see their dad. Then he made another point and said, "but you're all our family, too," He smirked as he said, "and right now, you guys need us a lot more."

"And we need you too." Katara added. All three of them smiled at that. Aang's smile then fell as he said, "I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara, something to remind you…"

"I'll be okay." Katara said as she glanced down. Steve and Nat looked at her face and knew that Katara was still feeling down about not seeing her father or her mother's necklace. They all looked to him as he said with a knowing smirk, "Still, just a little trinket. Maybe something like…" He glanced away before pulling out, "this?"

Sokka, Nat and Steve were all surprised while Katara looked overjoyed and she said, "Aang!" She took it from him as Momo ran in front of her and she asked while putting it back on, "How'd you get that?"

"Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you." Aang said with a smile. Steve chuckled while Nat shook her head and Sokka rubbed his eyes. When her necklace was secure, Katara then said, "Oh, that's so sweet of Zuko." She placed a hand next to her face before clenching and asked with a teasing smile, "Would you give him a kiss for me when you see him?"

"Sure." Aang answered with his own smile. Katara came over to him and planted a kiss on Aang's cheeks. Aang's cheeks blushed and thwittled his thumbs as Appa flew off with a groan.

x

Back at Prince Zuko's ship, they had been able to round up June's Shirshu and had just returned. After finding the Shirshu when it had calmed down and could sniff right again they made the long walk back to the ship. The Winter Soldier came up behind them and muttered, "Well that was the longest three hours I'll never get back."

"I think that we did a good job." Iroh said with a content smile. Prince Zuko looked back to his uncle and said, "What are you talking about? The three of us did all the searching. You just stuck to the path sniffing the perfume you stole."

"Now, now, Prince Zuko." Iroh said while waving his hands up and down, "The important thing is that we got Ms. June her beloved pet back." He turned to the bounty hunter and said, "Isn't that right?"

"A lot a good it did me!" June snapped at him. Iroh flinched back from it as he and Zuko slid off of the Shirshu's back. June then said, "Keep your gold. I don't want it anymore."

June turned her Shirshu to go in a different direction when she pulled on the reins to stop him. June looked back and slid off her ride's back. The Shirshu turned his head toward her as she walked over to them. She walked right up the Winter Soldier and looked him in the eye. The Hydra assassin kept himself at the ready, but what he didn't expect was her wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him right on the lips. Both Prince Zuko and Iroh's eyes went wide from this, before the latter's eyes turned into a comical waterfall. When she released him, June had a smirk on her face as she walked back to her Shirshu. The sniffing creature lowered itself to where she could climb on with ease. When she was on and the Shirshu stood back up, June looked back and said, "See you around, Bucky."

This surprised all three men as she cracked the whip and they took off into the night.

x

 **Author's Note:** Man, this was a long chapter to write. I hope you all enjoyed that little sparring/training session. I know that I should have done it earlier, but hopefully in the future ATLA crossovers I'll do better. I also hope that you enjoyed the ending of the episode. There are only five chapters left in Book One. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	16. Chapter 16: The Deserter

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

" _First you need to master water, then earth, then fire, right?" Katara asks as she, Sokka, Steve and Aang were flying over the South Pole. Aang looked to her and said, "That's what the monks told me."_

 _The group flew to a crescent shaped island in the middle of the Fire Nation so Aang could talk to Avatar Roku._

" _But I haven't even started learning waterbending," Aang said in distress, not to mention earth or fire."_

" _Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice." Avatar Roku told him. He sounded very serious as he said, "But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."_

" _I know you can do it, Aang," Avatar Roku said. Then with a smile he reminded, "for you have done it before."_

 _Aang blushed and thwittled his thumbs from a kiss he received from Katara as they flew North._

 _Prince Zuko, Iroh and the Winter Soldier all watched as June sped off on her Shirshu._

x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Sixteen: The Deserter**

The sun was starting to set as the group had come through a forest. Momo chirped as he was looking through the forest for some food. He looked about as he searched before running off, slightly unaware that there was someone watching from afar. The figure quickly dashed away from his tree. Momo flew through the air back to the group as they came across a guide in the middle of a four way intersection. Sokka walked to one side of it as Katara said, "This should give us a good idea of what's around here."

"Hopefully it'll be a town that won't have any trouble to run into." Natasha commented. Steve looked at her incredulously and said, "It's our job to help when people need it."

"I'm just saying." The spy said with a shrug. Sokka was currently fiddling this rations bag and held it to sprinkle what crumbs it had inside. Then he said, "See if you can find a menu." He wiped his mouth as he added, "I'm starving."

"Really? You honestly think that…" Natasha questioned as she looked over to the teen. Then she held up her hands as she thought about it and said, "Never mind."

"Plus, you're practically always hungry." Steve commented to the Water Tribe boy. Sokka only scowled to this. Aang then ran up to the poster that Katara was facing and pointed to it as he excitedly said, "I bet we'll find something to eat here."

They all looked to the poster and saw that it was mostly covered in flames while a red dragon was painted at the top. Aang then told the group, "The Fire Days Festival."

"Something tells me that we're in Fire Nation turf if there's a holiday that screams "Fire Nation"." Natasha said as she crossed her arms while Momo hung upside down to look at it. The lemur turned his head towards them as Steve nodded and said, "No doubt about it."

"Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians." Aang listed all that would be there while Sokka walked around to see what else there was. Nat placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "We get it, Aang. There will be a lot of Fire Nation stuff there."

"This would be a great place for me to study some real Firebenders." Aang said as he looked to the three. Steve raised a brow and asked, "Are you sure that's such a good idea, Aang."

"Yeah," Nat agreed. Both kids looked to her as she said, "I mean, I know it's important for you to learn Firebending but this might be…" She paused to find the right word, "A bad idea."

"You guys do have a point. Aang, you might want to rethink that." Sokka said from the other side. They all came over as he said, "Look at this."

When they looked at what he was looking at, three out of the four's jaws dropped. Sitting on top of a bunch of other posters, was a wanted poster of a certain Airbender. Not to mention a few others. Aang, not understanding the dangers, excitedly said, "Hey, a poster of me."

"Yeah." Sokka sarcastically said as he crossed his arms and looked to Aang as he clarified, "A wanted poster."

"And not just of him." Steve said as he looked amongst the other posters. Each one described nearly each of the Avengers. There was one with Steve with his helmet over his head and shield on his left arm, Natasha in a martial arts stance, a blonde man holding a hammer by its strap and a man with something odd on his chest thought it looked as if it were under his shirt. There were also five others of a Fire Nation man with two scars over his right eye, the Blue and Red Spirits, another Fire Nation soldier and a picture of Nikol. Nat then noticed, "It looks as if no one in the Fire Nation has seen either Clint or Bruce anywhere."

"So there've been no sightings of at least two of your friends." Sokka said as he thought about it. He looked to them and asked, "Do you think that's a good thing?"

"Well, it does mean that the Hulk isn't causing as much trouble as the rest of us." Nat said with a sideways nod. She looked really worried as she said, "But now I'm really worried about Clint."

"He's going to be fine, Nat." Steve reassured her as Aang removed his poster. Sokka then brought them back on track by saying, "Still, this is bad."

"Sokka's right about this." Nat said as she also removed the posters of them and their friends. Katara voiced her own concerns, "I think we'd better keep moving."

"I have to learn firebending at some point." Aang argued as he looked to the Waterbender. Natasha then asked him, "Uh, aren't you supposed to go by the Avatar cycle."

The young Airbender looked to the spy as she said, "You know. Water, Earth and then Fire."

"But this could be my only chance to watch the masters up close." Aang countered. Nat placed a hand against her forehead and said, "You guys could chip in at any time."

"Well, I already know what I'm gonna say." Sokka said with his arms crossed. Then with a very comical look, he repeatedly poked Aang in the forehead and said, "This is a very, VERY bad idea!"

"Steve, Katara…" Natasha said as she turned towards them. The two were currently thinking it over as Katara then said, "I guess we could check it out."

Aang was starting to become excited by this while Sokka questioned, "What?!"

But then Steve pointed to the Airbender and said, "But we're only going to observe, nothing else."

"Right." Aang nodded. Though they looked to Sokka, who was still thinking it was a bad idea, walked before his sister and the captain and questioned, "You guys want to walk into a Fire Nation town when they're all fired up with all their…" He had to pause to think of something, but could only come up with, "you know, fire?"

"I'm really agreeing with Sokka on this one." Natasha said. Katara then said as she walked around the podium, "We'll wear disguises."

Aang and Steve followed after her to Appa as she said, "And if it looks like trouble, we'll leave."

"Yeah, because we always leave before we get into trouble." Sokka sarcastically said as he and Nat remained where they were for a moment. Natasha looked to the teen and said, "I know how you feel."

The two then made their way to Appa though they hadn't looked at the particular poster of the man with the scars.

Appa landed not too far from the Fire Nation town and the group walked out onto a small rise. Appa gave a small groan as he came up from behind with Momo on his head. As most grabbed some cloaks, Steve then smiled as he said, "I'm still grateful that the old couple from the fishing harbor gave us these cloaks."

"It does seem convenient when you think about it." Natasha agreed. Aang then turned to the bison and the lemur to say, "Okay, you guys, stay out of sight here while we go to the festival."

"I understand the hiding part." Steve said as he looked to the Airbender, "But the rest seemed a little…" He couldn't find the right words to say.

Nonetheless, Momo hopped off of Appa's head, did a loop in the air and dove down into a bush. Appa followed the lemur's lead and hid behind the bush, even though it was a poor attempt to remain hidden. Aang then said to the four, "Ready disguises."

Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha all put on a cloak and threw the hoods over their head. Steve's cloak was able to cover the shield as it was strapped to his back. The only one who wasn't wearing a cloak was Aang as he fixed his over shirt and twisted around with a smile. The four gave him skeptical looks while Sokka sarcastically said while crossing his arms, "It's like you're a whole different person."

"Why didn't you grab a cloak from the saddle?" Steve asked the boy. Aang only shrugged while Katara giggled at how silly Aang was being. The Airbender then turned and said, "Let's go."

The group followed him in with Natasha the last to follow them. But as she followed them down, she glanced back when she felt like someone was watching them. And she was right as someone was watching from afar. The shadowy figure peeked around from behind a tree and watched as they went towards the town.

Fireworks went off as the group entered the town. They looked about to see people laughing, playing and having all sorts of fun. Steve looked to the Fire Nation citizens and said, "Can't really believe that they're doing this with a war going on."

"Probably because they think that they're gonna win it or something." Nat said as they walked deeper into the town. They abruptly stopped when a giant dragon costume came running through. They then looked around to see that everyone was wearing a mask over their faces. Katara then voiced the obvious, "I think we need some new disguises."

"No kidding." Natasha said as they continued to look at the people. Sokka then rhetorically questioned, "Where are we going to get masks like that?"

"Get your genuine Fire Festival masks here!" A man at a mask stand shouted. They all saw that the man had a small mustache and was wearing orange glasses. Sokka became quite surprised and he said with a slight smile, "That was surprisingly easy."

Steve then saw something and pointed to it as he said, "Especially with _them_ here."

The group looked to where he was pointing and all of their eyes went wide. Though they had their weapons slung on their backs, multiple Hydra soldiers were patrolling the grounds. The five then moved to get themselves a mask.

Aang and Katara were the first to reach the stand and grabbed a mask. When they had all picked a mask, they all turned away from the stand. Steve wore a mask that resembled a Firebender's helmet, Sokka's was a blue mask with yellow furs standing on end, Katara's mask was a woman with deep blushing cheeks, Aang wore a red and yellow faced crying clown and Natasha's was oddly looking like her own face. Steve, Katara and Nat looked between Aang and Sokka before nodding. Katara took the smiling mask off of a depressed Sokka and then turned and removed the crying mask off of a smiling Aang. She then placed the correct masks over the correct faces. Sokka didn't say anything but just look between his sister and the two Avengers. Steve patted his shoulder before they walked off.

As they walked around, Aang pointed to a booth and said, "Hey, there's some food."

"Finally." Sokka said as he rushed past them. He ran up to the booth and asked the merchant, "What do you have?"'

"Flaming fire flakes." The merchant told him. He held a sack to Sokka as he proudly proclaimed, "Best in town."

"I'll take 'em." Sokka said as he took the small bag and quickly started shoveling the flaks into his mouth. Sokka screamed as the spiciness and the freshly warm fire flakes burned his mouth. He pushed his mask up and tried to fan his tongue as he screamed, "Hot! Hot!"

He continued to try and rid himself of the flakes by brushing off his tongue. Katara crossed her arms and sarcastically reminded, "Flaming fire flakes… hot?"

Two kids ran past the group laughing as they were enjoying the festivities while Sokka lightly used his tongue to push whatever flakes were left in his mouth before pulling his mask down. All five of them became worried when two Hydra soldiers came up. Steve and Natasha readied themselves for whatever came. But they all became surprised when one of the Hydra soldiers said, "Flaming fire flakes burned you too? Happened to me earlier tonight. A little tip, you need to at least give them a few minutes to cool down."

Though he had a nervous smile, Sokka nodded and the two Hydra soldiers walked off. The Water Tribe teen pulled down his mask and said, "Well, that was a close one."

"Yeah." Steve agreed. Then he suggested, "Maybe it's time that we go before we end up drawing attention to ourselves."

"But we haven't gotten to see any actual firebending yet." Aang complained. Then he turned and saw something, "Hey, look at this."

They all turned to see a small stage and walked over. It was mostly a kids show as there were many toddlers sitting in front. The red curtains opened up as the five walked up. A small puppet of the Fire Lord appeared and said to the cheering children, "Don't worry, loyal citizens. No one can surprise the Fire Lord."

Then an Earth Kingdom soldier puppet rose onto the little stage with a rock in his hand. All the little Fire Nation children started to cry out in a panic. But before the Earth Kingdom soldier puppet could attack, the Fire Lord puppet quickly turned and breathed fire onto the enemy puppet. While the children and the other citizens cheered, Aang's group all looked a little disturbed by it. Natasha then commented, "Well that must be a waste of fabric."

No one said anything, even if they agreed with her. They turned and walked away from the puppet show as the Fire Lord puppet gave a bow. They soon came upon a huge crowd in front of a stage and Aang ran forward. The others ran after him and Katara shouted, "Aang, hold on. Where are we going?"

"I don't know," Aang shrugged as he kept running, "but there's a big crowd, so it must be good."

"Knowing the Fire Nation," Sokka said as they made their way to the front of the crowd, "it's probably an execution."

"Okay, I know that their Fire Nation," Natasha said as they neared the front and looked to the teen and said, "but usually festivals don't have anything that morbid."

When they reached the front of the crowd, they looked up onto the stage and saw a man performing some warm up exercises. They watched as the man used his firebending to pull two balls of fire from the torches at the stages' corners. Then he pulled two more balls of fire and moved them around him before bringing all four into one giant flaming ball. Then moving his arms outward, the ball of fire then burst and a flock of doves flew from the stage. Everyone watched in amazement and cheered, even Aang was excited as he had lifted his mask. He looked to the magician and said, "I got to learn that trick!"

Steve then noticed Aang's mask and said, "What you need is to maintain cover."

The super soldier quickly pushed Aang's mask over his face. Though it was behind the mask, Aang shot a slight glare Steve's way before turning his focus back on the magician. The Firebender bowed as he graciously said, "Thank you!"

He stepped closer to the edge of the stage as he said, "For my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!"

Aang raised his hand and grunted with anticipation and shouted, "Me! Me!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Sokka questioned as he lowered Aang's hand and the two Avengers pulled him back a little. Aang slightly turned and said, "I want to get a closer look."

"Hey, remember what we agreed on earlier." Steve whispered, not believing that Aang would try this. Katara then leaned forward and added, "It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves."

"How about you, little lady?" The magician said as he pointed to Katara, contradicting what they had just said. Steve, Nat and Sokka all mentally facepalmed to this. Katara tried to back away, "Uh…"

"Aw, she's shy." The magician said. Then turning to the crowd he said, "Let's give her some encouragement, folks!"

Before Sokka, Steve or Natasha could save her, the cheering crowd gently pushed her forward. The magician grabbed her hand and pulled her up onto the stage. Katara looked back to her friends with a pleading look as she went up. Aang crossed his arms and complained, "Aw, that could have been me."

"We don't need any shenanigans right now." Steve scolded as they watched out for Katara. Behind them, the shadowy figure appeared in the crowd. And though she didn't look back, Natasha could feel the person's presence and whispered to Steve, "I'll be right back."

"Nat? Where are you going?" Steve whispered as she left. The spy didn't say anything as she moved through the crowd. When she was sure that the figure hadn't moved she took a quick glance and saw that his attention was still on her friends. Moving around and then through the crowd again, she was able to move in close to the man. When it seemed that everyone had their attention on the show, Natasha quickly grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him away. The man grunted as he was pulled away and led into an alley. Nat roughly slammed the man into the wall and held him by the collar of his shirt. Holding a fist back she then demanded, "Talk. Now. Or else."

"I'm here to help." The man said. Then he pointed out, "Trouble is likely to brew with the Avatar around here. Especially with all the extra security around."

While not fully trusting him, Nat did understand what the man was saying. Releasing him she then said, "Okay, so we need to really leave, is that what you're saying?"

"It would be the best." The man said. Natasha glanced back to the magic show.

x

While wondering where Nat could have gone, Steve kept his eyes on Katara as the magician prepared his next trick as he brought out a chair. Setting the chair in the middle of the stage he then made it sound ominous as he said, "This next trick is called "Taming the Dragon!""

Then gently seating Katara into the chair he explained, "You will be my captured princess."

Then reaching into his sleeve he pulled out a ribbon and wrapped it around Katara. Then after tying her to the chair the magician walked towards the crowd and began to draw streams of fire from each of the four torches. The flames conjoined in the air and turned into a dragon. The magician then maneuvered it to where it came at Katara. The girl tensed up as the flames drew closer, but then the magician made it move away and moved the flaming dragon back and forth as he pretended to reassure her, "Don't worry, young maiden!

"I will tame this fiery beast!" Then throwing a stream of fire he pretended to put a leash on the dragon. Everyone continued to watch as the flaming dragon continued to move around in the sky. The magician put on a worried face as he kept up the act, "It's too strong!" He looked to the audience with a smirk as he warned, "I can't hold it!"

"We got to help her!" Aang said as he moved to the stage, not really understanding the act. Both Steve and Sokka grabbed onto him and Sokka said, "No, we don't want to make a scene."

"She's gonna be alright." Steve assured him. The magician continued to act as he said in distraught, "The rope, it's breaking!"

The flaming rope disappeared from the dragon made of fire and it turned towards the bound Katara. As it came closer, Katara screamed in fear and shut her eyes. Before either of his friends could stop him, Aang jumped onto the stage. Turning as he landed in front of Katara, he stooped to one knee and twisted his arms while standing to create a mini cyclone from his hands. The cyclone knocked Aang's mask off before meeting the fiery dragon head on and the dragon turned into an explosion of confetti. The magician, haven been knocked down at some point, looked to Aang with a glare and questioned, "Hey, you trying to upstage me, kid?"

The crowd started to boo in disappointment at how the act went. Aang looked to them before he started doing a goofy dance while Sokka came on the stage and untied Katara. Aang froze in mid-pose when someone shouted, "Hey, that kid's the Avatar!"

The guards of both the Fire Nation and Hydra that were near all turned towards the stage. They rushed through the crowd while the Hydra soldiers readied their weapons. The Fire Nation citizens moved out of the way of the guards. Steve jumped onto the stage and stood protectively in front of them. They all looked worried as Sokka stated the obvious, "I think it's time to go."

"No arguments here." Steve said as he took out his shield. They all looked back as a voice said, "Follow me," They saw Nat and a strange man standing in a convenient hole in the wall as the man gestured for them to come, "I can get you all out of here."

The four didn't hesitate and moved to the hole as the soldiers spotted them, "There they are!"

Steve raised his shield and blocked an incoming spear while Aang used a blast of air to knock some of the Hydra soldiers back. When the four ran through the hole, Nat ran after them while the man stood back before igniting a smoke bomb and threw it at the incoming Fire Nation soldiers. The six then began to run through the festive streets while the guards continued to chase them. They ran by lots of booths and accidentally crashed into a few people along the way. They passed by several more guards and one of them shouted, "Over there!"

All the guards conjoined together as they ran down an alley. Aang then shouted, "I'm calling Appa!"

"Well, hurry up and do it!" Nat shouted behind her as Aang reached into his over shirt. He took a deep breath before blowing on the whistle. As they kept running Sokka commented/wished, "I hope he can really hear that bison whistle."

"He'll hear it. He's done it in a tight spot before." Steve said as he turned and quickly flung his shield at the closest guards. The vibranium shield bounced off two soldiers before returning back to the Cap's hand. Those two soldiers caused a domino effect and bumped into a few of the soldiers behind them. It didn't incapacitate any of the others as they ran around their comrades and continued the chase. The strange man pointed to an alley and shouted, "This way!"

All six turned and ran down the alley, but stopped when they found that they had come across another squad of soldiers that cut them off. The man then regretted his choice of directions and said, "Okay, not this way."

The group back tracked and ducked with a yell when the bang of a blaster went off. The man set off another smoke bomb and threw it at these soldiers before running off. The diversion went off and all the soldiers coughed from the smoke. They turned down an adjoining alley and gasped when they had come across a dead end. Their path was blocked by a huge cart of fireworks. Steve then looked to the stranger and questioned, "What now?"

The sound of weapons clicking drew their attention. The Hydra soldiers had their weapons raised and the Fire Nation guards pointed their spears at them. The group readied themselves when suddenly a growl made them all look up. A relieved Aang shouted, "Appa, down here!"

As the bison began to land, the Hydra soldiers raised their weapons and prepared to shoot the bison down. Steve took a chance and flung his shield towards them. The patriotic projectile bounced off the middle two heads and worked its way off of all the other soldiers heads before making its way back to them. As they fell, Appa landed in the alley and turned one hundred and eighty degrees before slamming his tail, sending a shockwave that hurled the soldiers out of the alley.

"Quick get on!" Steve shouted to the others. He jumped over the bison and landed just behind the tail to provide cover. Aang jumped onto Appa's head and readied the reins while Natasha, Sokka, Katara and the stranger all climbed up by a leg. When they were all on, Steve quickly ran up to the saddle and shouted, "Yip! Yip!"

Appa then struck his tail and took off into the air once again. The soldiers ran back down the alley and the Hydra soldiers raised their weapons once more. But before they could fire, the man ignited one more smoke bomb and threw it into the fireworks. The small explosive caused a massive bang as fireworks shot out of the cart. As they flew, Appa's tail had caught onto a string of lanterns and carried them over the giant torch of the Fire Nation insignia. A lantern caught onto the decoration and the entire string of lanterns fell onto the giant torch. The wooden symbol soon caught fire and the entire crowd of Fire Nation citizens cheered to this. A man even shouted, "Beautiful!"

As Appa and his passengers flew away from the festival, the man removed his hood. Aang looked back with a smirk and complimented, "Nice touch, setting off those fireworks."

"It did provide the perfect distraction." Natasha added with a smile of her own. Even Sokka was impressed as he said, "You seem to really know your explosives."

"I'm familiar." The man said as he turned to the group. Sokka seemed to recognize him as he said, "You're a Fire Nation soldier!"

"Even though he wrecked a Fire Nation Festival." Natasha reminded as the man looked back to the fireworks as they exploded. She then turned to him and asked, "So, I take it you're not with them."

The man nodded and looked back, "That's right, I _was_." Then with a smile he introduced himself, "My name's Chey."

"I'm Aang." Said the Airbender at the head of the bison. Then pointing to each of his friends he said, "And this is Sokka, Katara, Captain Steve Rogers and Agent Natasha Romanoff."

"Nice to meet you all." Chey said with a small nod. Steve then said, "Let's find a place to land and then we can further our discussion there."

"Sounds good." The former Fire Nation soldier said.

It wasn't long when the group had found a spot to land. And after setting up camp for the night the group sat around the fire while Appa slept next to them. Steve then started and said to Chey, "So you're the reason Nat snuck off."

"Okay, first off," Natasha started off as she gave him a deadpanned look, "I didn't sneak off, I did tell you that I was going somewhere." Then she calmed down and said, "Secondly, I didn't want to make him suspicious and take off if we were all coming after him."

"Ok, fair enough." Steve admitted. Aang then asked, "So what's your story, Chey?"

"I serve a man." The former Fire Nation soldier started, "More than a man, really, he's a myth." But he made it sound a little confusing as he said, "But he's real."

This brought memories back to Steve about Bucky when he first found out that his friend was still alive and his role in the modern world. But he didn't say anything as Chey continued, "A living legend- Jeong Jeong the deserter."

"Another former Fire Nation soldier?" Steve guessed. Chey nodded and said, "In fact, he was Fire Nation general." But then he tried to think about it as he rubbed his head while saying, "Or wait, was he an admiral?"

"He was very highly ranked; we get it." Sokka said with a questioning look to keep the story going. Chey pointed to the Water Tribe teen and said, "Yeah," This caused Sokka to drop the stick he was holding and Chey said, "way up there! But he couldn't take the madness anymore." He had a proud look and said, "He's the first person ever to leave the army and live." Chey looked a little less proud as he said, "I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. It's okay, though."

"But it still takes guts to do that." Steve pointed out. Chey smiled in appreciation to this and kept going with his story, "Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad, but he's not."

"Mad crazy or mad angry?" Natasha asked in confusion. Chey looked to the spy and said, "Mad crazy. He's enlightened."

"You mean there's a Firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" Aang excitedly said. Then standing up he said, "We've got to go see him! He can train me!"

"We're not going to go find some crazy Firebender." Sokka firmly said as he thought that it sounded nuts. A thought crossed into Steve's mind and he said, "But maybe this Jeong Jeong guy's seen one of our friends."

"Maybe." Natasha shrugged. Chey then stood up and reminded while pointing to Sokka, "He's not crazy. He's a genius!"

"Yeah, you said that already." Nat said with her arms crossed. Then she looked to Aang and said, "And I thought that we already talked about how we're gonna go about your training, Aang. We're going to the North Pole to find you a _water_ bending teacher first. We don't have time to stop for you to learn firebending right now."

"But he is the perfect person to train the Avatar." Chey argued. Then he revealed, "That's why I followed you into the festival."

"Wait?" Steve said as he was confused. Then with a questioning look he asked ulp to Chey, "How long have you been tailing us?"

"Since I saw you near that podium with the posters where you learned about the festival." Chey said. The air was filled with an awkward silence until Sokka stood up and said, "Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the North Pole in the morning."

"That I'm with." Nat said as she stood up as well. Aang then pleaded, "Sokka, Natasha, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master," then he added, "who would actually be willing to teach me."

"It can't hurt just to talk to him." Katara said as she stood up. Steve stood up as well and said, "And who knows how long it could be until we find another person that could teach Aang at least a few tips."

"That's what you guys said about going to the festival!" Sokka shouted as he became infuriated at the thought. Then he questioned to Nat, "Why doesn't anyone ever listen to us?!"

"Who knows?" Nat said with a shrug. She looked to Steve and said, "Plus, when we find him a teacher, we find him a teacher."

Both her and Sokka were about to turn and walk away, but screamed when two spears were pointed at them. All around them, warriors in clothes from plants dropped down. Katara screamed in fright while Steve and Nat readied themselves. Aang gasped when two spears were pointed at him. All six of them were surrounded by the warriors. One of the warriors lifted his head and warned, "Don't move."

Soon the warriors had the group surrounded and were leading them through the forest. Appa growled and Momo purred from the vines overhead as they followed after them. Chey was at the front of the group when the head warrior scolded, "Jeong Jeong told you not to look for Avatar or Avengers."

This surprised the group and Steve asks, "Wait? Jeong Jeong knows about us?"

"And you know these guys?" Sokka added as they followed behind. Chey had a smile as he stopped and turned back to say, "Oh, yeah. Lin Ye's an old buddy." He looked to the man behind him and said, "Right, Lin Ye?"

"Shut up." Lin Ye growled and pointed his spear at Chey. Then with a light nudge, Lin Ye ordered, "Keep moving."

The five looked to each other as they continued to follow.

After an hour so of walking, the group came to a camp next to a river. Appa and a purring Momo stayed on the outskirts while Aang and the others walked down the hill. Most of the group had stopped on the hill before a bungalow next to the river. Lin Ye then said, "Go on. He sees you only."

"Oh, that's okay." Chey said to Aang and his friends, "We can chat later."

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asked, really wanting to speak with him. He moved down the path as he said, "I need to talk to him right away."

But Lin Ye stopped the boy with his spear and said, "No. You wait there." Then moving to Chey he pushed the man with the broad wooden side of his spear and said, "Go now!"

"And we can wait until you're done." Natasha said as she placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. Chey looked back and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." He raised his hands above his head as he walked, "He's a great man, great man."

The five then followed Lin Ye to another bungalow to wait. As they went inside, Nat looked to Lin Ye and said, "Something tells me that everything's not fine."

Lin Ye only shook his head and didn't say a word.

x

Back at the Fire Nation town, the festival was long since over, but the events of the night didn't go unreported. Standing before the Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers of the town was Admiral Zhao with his own assortment of soldiers. He looked to the town's group and said, "So the Avatar and Avengers were here," He sounded truly angry as he added, "and you all let them slip away."

"Yes, sir." The town's captain said with a bow of his head. Then he added, "But other than that, the festival went off without a hitch."

All of the group cringed when the giant torch fell behind them. Then the captain continued, "No fights, theft was way down."

"So not a total loss." A Hydra soldier said with a nervous smile. The other Hydra soldiers, both with the town and Zhao all groaned at his attempt. But Zhao stepped forward and shouted, "I don't care about your local crime rates." Then he questioned, "Which way did they go?"

"They headed into the forest," the captain said as he pointed in that direction, "up the river, I suspect."

"Ready the riverboats." Zhao ordered to his unit of soldiers. He looked back as he stated, "We're going after the Avatar."

"Sir." One of the Hydra soldiers stationed in the town said while the soldiers ran off. Admiral Zhao looked to the soldier as he said, "I know that it won't help much, but I did get a good look at their aid's face."

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a wanted poster of Chey. Zhao took a good look at it and said, "So it was a traitor, eh?" Turning away he said, "He'll be dealt with soon enough."

x

Back at Jeong Jeong's camp, Chey came walking out with a disappointed look on his face. When he walked up to the group's bungalow, the walked right inside. Aang, clearly not asleep, caused Momo to flee as he sat up and asked, "What happened? Can I see Jeong Jeong now?"

"He won't see you." Chey said as he sat down. Then he looked to Aang and added, "He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately."

Sokka sat up on his cot and said, "Finally. Let's hit the road."

"Why won't we see me?" Aang asked, turning back to Chey. Knowing that they wouldn't be going anywhere right now, Sokka laid flat out on the cot. Chey then said, "He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet."

"Told you. You need to do it the right way." Natasha said as she laid facing away from them. But this confused and weirded Aang out as he asked, "Wait, how does he know that?"

"He saw the way you walked into camp." Chey told him. But then Steve sat up and said, "But we didn't see him when we got here."

"He can tell." Chey said, still believing that Jeong Jeong was a true genius. Really wanting to talk to him, Aang stood up and said, "I'm going in, anyway."

"Aang, wait." Steve said as the Airbender walked out of the cot. Aang walked down to Jeong Jeong's bungalow and waited a moment while taking a deep breath before going inside. Then he parted the curtains and walked in with a smile. But that smile faded when he saw that Jeong Jeong had his back turned while sitting in the lotus position behind a wall of candles. Not even turning around, the old firebending master said, "Get out."

Aang was about to take a step forward, but pulled his foot back. He then found the courage and walked forward while saying, "Master, I need to learn firebending."

"Only a food seeks his own destruction." Jeong Jeong said as he kept meditating. Aang sat down and said, "I'm the Avatar. It's my destiny to…"

"Destiny?" Jeong Jeong questioned as his anger to the boy's impudence began to rise, "What would a boy know of destiny? If a fish lives its who life in this river, does he know the river's destiny?" He glanced back as he stated, "No!" He turned back and said, "Only that it runs on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end."

Aang continued to listen, even if he didn't understand what the man before him was saying, "He cannot imagine the ocean."

"Okay." Aang said as he leaned forward a little, not knowing how to respond to that, "But it's the Avatar's duty to master all of the bending disciplines."

"To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself." Jeong Jeong said, wanting Aang to go and do it the way it was supposed to go. But he was disappointed as he glanced back and said, "But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you." Then he growled again, "Now get out."

Aang, not liking how Jeong Jeong was being difficult to him, pleaded, "Please, I have to learn." Then he tried to point out, "This could be my only chance."

"Are you deaf?!" Jeong Jeong shouted as he turned to face Aang, his patience clearly gone. Then he questioned, "How can I teach you if you refuse to listen?! To me or your friend?!" He calmed down as he explained the cycle, "Before learning firebending, you must learn water and earth." Then he stated, "Water is cool and soothing, earth is steady and stable."

He looked down at one of the candles and said, "But fire…" He bent the flame as he said, "fire is alive. It breathes, it grows." He made a fist to emphasize the element of earth, "Without the bender, a rock will not throw itself!" He looked into his palm as he said, "But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it!"

Aang looked to him with wide eyes as Jeong Jeong shouted, "That is its destiny!" Then he lashed out, "You are not ready!" Anger burned in his eyes as he shouted, "You are too weak!"

His anger caused the candles' flames to flare high up into the room and the room darkened. A single candle lit up and Jeong Jeong found himself in the presence of another Avatar. Avatar Roku looked down on him and questioned, "You think I am weak?"

"Avatar Roku?" Jeong Jeong questioned. Then knowing what he said, the old Firebender waving his hands he said, "No! No!" He bowed his head, "I did not mean that."

"I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes." Avatar Roku said and Jeong Jeong looked up to him. Then the former Avatar said, "Now I must do it again.

"You will teach the Avatar firebending." Avatar Roku said as he caused the tree next to him to be set ablaze with fire. Even the candle flared a bit from the former Avatar's firebending. Jeong Jeong humbly bowed his head and said, "Yes, yes. I will teach you."

"Really?" Aang asked, snapping Jeong Jeong back to the physical world. Aang excitedly raised his arms and shouted, "That's great!"

Jeong Jeong then groaned as he looked away from the brightly smiling Aang.

x

The next morning, Sokka was sitting on a rock and trying to catch some fish while Katara was practicing her waterbending. Even Steve and Natasha were keeping busy as they were practicing their combat skills. Aang stood on a rock in front of Jeong Jeong and assumed his stance. Jeong Jeong then ordered, "Widen your stance."

Aang shuffled his feet and spread his legs further out. Jeong Jeong then ordered, "Wider."

Aang did just that and Jeong Jeong said, "Bend your knees."

Aang lowered most of his body as he followed his instructor's command. Then Jeong Jeong said, "Now concentrate."

Aang put on a serious face and remained still as he awaited the next instruction. Jeong Jeong turned and walked while saying, "Good, good."

Noticing that he was walking away, Aang turned his head and asked with a raised brow, "Wait! What now?"

"Silence!" Jeong Jeong barked as he turned to face his pupil. Then he said, "Talking is not concentrating." Pointing to the others he asked, "Look at your friend; is she talking?" Then pointing to the two Avengers, "Are they talking?" Then pointing to Sokka he stated, "Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing."

"Hey!" Sokka shouted from his rock, clearly offended by that. But Aang was still confused and asked, "But what am I concentrating on?"

"Feel the heat of the sun." Jeong Jeong said as he gestured to the rising star. Then he stated, "It is the greatest source of fire, yet it is in complete balance with nature."

"So when do I get to make some fire?" Aang asked, clearly wanting to get to that part. Jeong Jeong then ordered, "Concentrate!"

Aang sighs in defeat as he continues to concentrate. But the sound of laughing causes him to glance over to his friends. When they could feel him looking at them, they abruptly stopped and looked up to the sky. Aang then turned back and started to shake as he tried to maintain focus even though a blush on his cheeks.

It was a little while later and Jeong Jeong took Aang up the side of a mountain. As they continued climbing, Aang then asked, "Are we coming up here so I don't burn anything with my fire blasts?"

"No fire yet." Jeong Jeong said as he kept his eyes on the peak. This caused Aang to stop in his tracks and complained, "What?!"

Jeong Jeong looked over the land when he reached the peak. Aang joined him at the top and Jeong Jeong said, "Power in firebending comes from the breath. That is why you must master proper breath control."

"You brought me up all the way up here to breathe?" Aang asked in confusion and disappointment. Then turning ninety degrees and placing his hands behind his back Jeong Jeong said, "Assume your stance."

Aang did that and Jeong Jeong said without looking, "Wider."

"You're not even look…" Aang said as he looked to his teacher. But Jeong Jeong just shouted, "Wider!"

Aang decided not to argue and made his stance wider. Jeong Jeong then instructed, "Now inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth."

Aang opened his mouth to say something, but Jeong Jeong could feel it coming and said, "Without talking."

The Airbender clamped his mouth shut and focused on his task. Aang took in a deep breath through his nose and released it through his mouth. Jeong Jeong then turned to go back down and instructed, "Good. Keep going."

Aang continued breathing as Jeong Jeong continued to climb back down.

x

When he neared the camp, he was greeted by both Steve and Natasha as they both walked behind him. The spy then asked, "So, how's our future Firebender doing?"

"He will master it." Jeong Jeong said as he didn't look back. But he had doubts as he added, "Once he masters discipline."

Then without warning he said, "You two wish to ask me something, no?"

Both Avengers were surprised by this, but Steve then said, "Yes, sir. We wanted to ask you if you had heard anything about a few strangers."

"The other Avengers, yes?" Jeong Jeong asked as they neared his bungalow. Steve nodded and said, "Yes."

"Only rumors, mostly." Jeong Jeong said as they soon stopped before the former Fire Nation soldier's bungalow. The firebending genius then turned around to them and said, "May I offer you some advice?"

Both Steve and Natasha nodded and Jeong Jeong then said, "Many things come to us when he search for them. But those things might be searching for us instead."

He started to turn to go inside when Natasha said, "So you're saying, that if we're patient and give it time, then our friends will come to us."

"Who knows." Jeong Jeong said with a shrug. But as he walked into his bungalow, a small smile formed as he disappeared inside.

x

It was about three hours later and the sun was starting to go down when Aang returned from the mountain top. Steve was the first to see him walking down the hill towards Jeong Jeong's bungalow. The super soldier quickly walked over to him and asked, "Uh, Aang? Did Jeong Jeong give you a time limit? Cause he didn't leave to go get you."

"He didn't." Aang said as he walked past his friend. Steve then placed a hand on Aang's shoulder and said, "I think you should follow his instructions to the letter. Remember that he's the one teaching you."

Aang still walked towards the bungalow and walked inside. Jeong Jeong, who was about to pour a cup of tea, looked to the boy and questioned, "What are you doing here?! I did not tell you to stop!"

"I've been breathing for hours." Aang said as he was starting to get annoyed. Jeong Jeong looked to the boy and rhetorically asked, "You want to stop breath? And again you do not listen to me or your friends. Do you not know that they have great wisdom to offer?!"

"I want you to stop wasting my time!" Aang shouted as he threw his hands into the air. He let all his frustrations with Jeong Jeong out as he said, "I already know how to squat and breathe and feel the sun!" Moving closer he demanded as if he were a child, "I want to know how to shoot fire out of my fingertips!" Then his eye slightly twitched before saying, "And yes, my friends do give me good tips, but right now I know what I need."

Jeong Jeong sighs as he puts down his tea cup. Then while looking at Aang and remembering his past he said, "I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire-" Jeong Jeong remembered what his pupil's intentions were as he said, "how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path."

x

Floating down the river were three riverboats with Admiral Zhao leading them. He kept an eye out for anything suspicious. He would turn his head to spot anything in the trees.

 _Jeong Jeong, "But fire is a horrible burden to bear. Its nature is to consume. And without control, it destroys everything around it."_

The warriors appeared at the sides of the river bank and launched their spears at the boats. Zhao saw them coming, knocked two away with his armored wrist and sent a flame with a sweep of his right hand at the warriors. The warriors scattered as the flames burned at the trees around them. Zhao then looked to the Hydra soldiers and nodded. Each soldier raised his weapon and opened fire on the warriors. Screams filled the woods while the forest burned behind a satisfied Admiral Zhao.

x

Back at the camp, Jeong Jeong was pouring the tea into the cup as he said, "Learn restraint or risk destroying yourself and everything you love."

Aang looked down as he began to think about what Jeong Jeong was telling him. Then he turned and walked out of the bungalow as Jeong Jeong took a sip. When he emerged, Steve was waiting for him and he asked, "What happened in there?"

"An eye opener." Aang said as he moved to the rock and sat down. He began to meditate on Jeong Jeong's words as he thought about how he acted and what he could do to make it better. Steve sent a small smile the boy's way before leaving him.

It was a little later when Jeong Jeong himself emerged from the tent. He found Aang still sitting on the rock as leaves began to fall off the tree. Without opening his eyes, Aang said, "I thought about what you said. I promise I'll be more patient."

Feeling that Aang had truly learned the lesson, Jeong Jeong then said, "We're oing to work with fire now."

Aang, completely shocked and excited, jumped up into the air and moved with airbending before shouting, "Oh, yeah!" Then he landed with a punch to the rock. The Airbender then remembered, quickly stood up and turned and humbly said, "I mean, let us begin."

Jeong Jeong, while not as enthusiastic about it that much, still waited patiently as the leaves fell around them. When one fell next to him he grabbed it and walked towards the Avatar. Then using the space between his finger and thumb he created a small ember that made the leaf smoke. Then handing it to Aang he instructed, "Concentrate on the fire."

Aang took the leaf and held it at the two ends as it continued to smoke. The flaming ring grew a little more as Jeong Jeong then said, "I want you to keep this flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can."

Aang groaned as he assumed his stance and concentrated on the leaf. One of the warriors suddenly ran up to Jeong Jeong and said, "Master, there is trouble."

"What's going on?" Aang asked as he broke both concentration and stance. Jeong Jeong looked to the boy and said as he ran off, "Concentrate on your leaf!"

Aang looked in annoyance while Katara walked up to the river. He looked to her and said, "This is the worst firebending instruction ever. All he does is leave me alone for hours to concentrate or breathe."

"I'm sure there's a good reason." Katara assured him. But apparently his restraint fleeted as he said, "But I'm ready to do so much more."

Aang then reassumed his stance and began to concentrate and breathe again. The burning ring grew bigger until suddenly it burst into flames. Holding it in his palm he excitedly said, "I did it!" He rotated his free hand as he said, "I made fire!"

"Aang, that's great," Katara said as she walked to his side, even if it was on the side. Then she warned, "but you should take it slow."

Aang pumped a fist, but it made the fire flare up and he grunted in surprise. Katara, fearing for her friend, shouted, "Careful!"

Aang was really close to falling off the rock but was able to regain his balance. The flame kept burning as he turned to her and became cocky as he stated, "Now, that's firebending."

Then taking a deep breath, he then pushed it to where it turned into a diagonal stream. Katara then warned, "Aang, you'll hurt yourself."

Then like an irresponsible child, Aang began to play around with the ball of fire and moved it between his hands. It started from throwing it over his head before going side to side with it. When it went too far, Aang nearly tipped over the edge of the rock but was able to hold onto it before regaining his balance and threw it over tossed the fire over his back. A thought popped into his mind as he said, "I wonder how that juggler did it."

Steve and Natasha were just running down the hill when they saw Aang twisting around on the rock with fire in his hands. Aang then used his hands to send the flames out like a ring. He was truly impressed by it until he saw that Katara was in the way. The two Avengers quickly rushed forward to protect her but didn't make it in time as Katara screamed and threw her hands up to protect herself. The Waterbender cried out in pain as the flames burned her hands. Aang, truly worried, watched as she fell onto her knees and shouted, "Katara!

"I'm so sorry!" Aang shouted as he jumped onto the shore and looked down to her as Steve and Natasha joined them. Katara sobbed as she clutched her burning hands as Sokka ran over. Worried for his sister he asked, "Katara, what's wrong?"

Both he and Nat gently took her hands and gasped when they saw burn marks on them. Sokka looked at Aang with a glare and angrily questioned, "What did you do?!"

"It was an accident!" Aang tried to explain. He couldn't find the words as he said, "It was…" He tried to reach for her as he said, "Katara, I'm so…"

But before he could do anything, Sokka tackled him to the ground. Steve was quick to pull them apart and said, "Sokka, stop! This isn't helping!"

"It doesn't matter!" Sokka shouted at him and shrugged him off. He looked to Aang on the ground and said, "I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did!" Then pointing to Katara he shouted, "You burned my sister!"

Tears welled in Aang's eyes as he thought about his mistake. Katara sobbed in pain as she got up and ran off into the woods. Sokka then called out, "Katara!"

Clutching the swaying grass, Aang watched in sadness as she disappeared into the forest. Aang looked down in sadness as he felt terrible about hurting his friend. Sokka, still angry shouted as Aang sat up, "You burned my sister!"

"Yeah! We heard you the first time, Sokka!" Nat shouted back and shoved the teen back a little. Pointing to Aang she said, "Make the kid feel worse, why don't'cha!"

Sokka just scowled at her before his gaze turned to Aang. Jeong Jeong had walked back over and Sokka pointed to him as he accused, "This is all your fault!"

"I know." Jeong Jeong said as he knew that he deserved the blame as well. But then he shook his head and said, "Now pack your things. You must leave immediately."

"I'm sorry." Aang said to Sokka as the teen looked down at him. But Sokka just shook his head and turned before walking off as Aang tried to say, "I didn't…" He called after him, "I'm sorry."

Jeong Jeong walked up next to the Airbender and Aang looked up to his teacher with guilt. But Jeong Jeong looked away in shame and started to walk away as well. Steve looked to Nat and said, "Could you go and keep an eye on Sokka?"

"What about Katara?" She asked. Steve looked to the disappearing Firebender and said, "I think he's got this covered."

Natasha nodded and walked off after the Water Tribe teen. Steve sat next to Aang and said, "Aang, what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." Aang said as he hugged his knees close. Steve then said, "Look, you messed up…"

"Gee, thanks." Aang sarcastically said, not lifting his head. Steve said, "What I meant to say was, that even though you messed up, you'll next time that firebending isn't something to take lightly. And that when you play with it, someone's going to get burned. That's why you practice restraint."

This seemed to make Aang think as he finally looked to the super soldier. Then wiping his eyes he then said, "You're right about me not taking it lightly again, because I'm never going to firebend again."

"What?" Steve questioned as Aang then stood up and walked to Jeong Jeong's bungalow. The super soldier got up as well and said, "Aang, wait!"

x

Katara kneeled at another part of the river and still cried in pain. Then shakily removing her hands from under her arms she looked at them. Both appendages trembled in pain from the burns and Katara could still feel the heat from them. Gently lowering them into the river, Katara grunted in pain before she felt the cooling sensation of the water. Her eyes widened while watching them glow and the pain faded away. When she removed her hands from the water, the glow faded as did the burn marks. Katara was completely surprised by this when a voice said from behind, "You have healing abilities."

Katara looked back to see Jeong Jeong walking up to her and he said, "The great benders of the Water tribe sometimes have this ability." Kneeling down beside her he said, "I've always wished I were blessed like you, free from this burning curse."

"But you're a great master." Katara said as she turned to him. Then she pointed out, "You have powers I'll never know."

"Water brings healing and life." Jeong Jeong argued about the properties of the two elements. Then he said, "But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery." He sighed before he said, "Eventually, we are torn apart."

Two fire balls strike the river and both Jeong Jeong and Katara jump back from the water's edge. They looked down the river to see three river boats sailing up to them. Another one came straight at them, but Jeong Jeong was able to disperse it. The riverboats drew closer to them. Jeong Jeong looked to Katara and said, "Go get your friends and flee!"

She continued to run as Jeong Jeong warned, "Do not come back here, or you will all be destroyed! Hurry!"

He turned back just as three more fire balls were launched from the boats.

x

From on the main boat, Admiral Zhao looked through the telescope when he spotted a familiar face. He lowered the telescope as he thought of what a prize he could bring in with the traitor's head.

x

The fire balls landed around Jeong Jeong before he jumped into his stance and rotated his arms in a circle before creating a huge wall of fire between him and the riverboats. The wall of fire spread across the river and caused the boats to turn towards the shore that wasn't touch by the fire. When they neared the shore, Zhao jumped from the boat and reassured his men by saying, "Don't worry, men. My old teacher gave up fighting a long time ago."

Then placing his hands together, Zhao was able to cut through the wall and walk onto the other side as he said, "Haven't you, Master Jeong Jeong?"

Jeong Jeong continued to glare at him before dropping the wall of fire.

x

Katara came running down the path towards Appa, Sokka, Natasha and Momo. Natasha and Sokka were starting to prepare Appa for takeoff. Noticing that she wasn't in pain as she ran, Nat said, "Katara? What happened?"

"Are you all right?" Sokka asked as he turned to face his sister. She reassured them by saying, "I'm fine." But then she alerted them, "But we've got to get out of here."

She noticed that they were missing two and asked, "Where are Aang and Steve?"

Sokka jerked a thumb to Jeong Jeong's bungalow. Katara quickly ran towards it and saw Steve pacing outside. She ran up to the super soldier and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Aang's in there." Steve said and pointed to the building. Steve then said, "You should really talk to him."

Katara parted the curtains and walked in. But she was surprised to find Aang sitting behind the candles with his back to the door. Knowing that she was there, Aang didn't turn around as he said, "Jeong Jeong tried to tell me that I wasn't ready." He lowered his head in shame as he said, "I wouldn't listen."

She was truly shocked when he told her, "I'm never going to firebend again."

"You'll have to, eventually." Katara said, knowing that it was a part of him. But Aang still refused by saying, "No, never again."

"It's okay, Aang." Katara assured him, then revealed, "I'm healed."

"What? How?" A surprised Aang asks as he glances back. Knowing that there was a time later she said, "I'll explain later. But right now, we have to get out of here. Zhao, his soldiers and Hydra are attacking."

"Where?" Aang asks as he airbends a jump to stand. She pointed as she said, "By the river." Then she revealed, "They captured Jeong Jeong."

"I have to help him." Aang said as he rushed out. He ran out of the bungalow and told Steve, "Stay with the others, I have to help Jeong Jeong by the river."

"Aang?" Steve shouted as the boy ran off. Then he shouted, "Aang!"

The Airbender looked back as he ran. Steve quickly removed his shield and threw it to Aang. Aang caught the vibranium shield and placed it on his arm.

x

At the river, Admiral Zhao and his mix of soldiers had Jeong Jeong outnumbered. The admiral sounded disappointed as he said, "Look at you. You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage."

"It is you who have embraced savagery, Zhao." Jeong Jeong argued. Then Zhao corrected, "It's Admiral Zhao now."

"That title will not help you against the Avatar." Jeong Jeong warned. Then he gestured to his assortment of soldiers and said, "And neither will this alliance of mad men." Then he said as a warning, "Do not try to fight him or the Avengers! You are no match."

Zhao chuckled before saying, "I think I can handle a child. And though a little tricky, I will be the one to take down the Avengers as well."

"I have never seen such raw power." Jeong Jeong said as he turned away. Zhao just growled in anger to this. They were all surprised when they heard Aang call out, "Jeong Jeong!"

They all looked to see Aang running up with Cap's shield on his arm. Zhao then challenged Jeong Jeong, "We'll see."

Then gesturing to the soldiers, Zhao ordered, "Men, take the deserter. And I want him alive!"

The Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers all moved around Jeong Jeong with stances at the ready, spears pointed at him and blasters hot and aimed. Aang stopped running to see how the situation would play out. Jeong Jeong looked between the soldiers before looking over to the boy. Then he smirked as he knew what to do. Jeong Jeong turned a complete circle and created a barrier of fire around himself while the soldiers threw the spears and the three Firebenders shot a ball of fire. The Hydra soldiers quickly blasted as the barrier of flames grew larger. When it dispersed, Jeong Jeong was nowhere to be seen. Zhao then shouted, "It's a trick! He's run off into the woods! Find him!"

But before all of the soldiers went, he looked to two Hydra soldiers and ordered, "You two stay behind and give me aid when I need it."

Both soldiers nodded and they all turned towards the Avatar. Zhao moved towards Aang and said, "Let's find out what my old master has taught you."

"You were Jeong Jeong's student?" Aang asked as he was shocked by this. The Firebender then admitted, "Until I got bored."

Zhao then sent a fire fist towards him. Aang used his airbending to jump over the flames. Aang quickly removed the shield from his arm and pushed the broad side of it towards his opponent with his airbending. Zhao ducked underneath before standing up and sending another fire fist at him. Aang gasped and ducked under this shot. The two started to circle each other while not breaking their stances. Zhao then commented, "I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a Firebender is truly capable of."

Then with a spin he sent a double fire fist at Aang with a yell. Aang rolled out of the way and used his airbending to grab the shield and pull it back to him. He rolled again when Zhao sent another double fire fist at him. When Aang stopped, he ducked while using his finger to airbend him off the ground a little. He looked back and said with a smirk, "Whoa, wild shot!"

"I'll show you wild!" Zhao shouted. He yelled as he shot another ball at him. Aang used the shield to bat the flames away. Then he twisted around as more fire balls and jumped out of the way. When Zhao sent three more his way, he ducked underneath the first and jumped out of the way when the other two came at him. When they crashed into the forest behind him, Aang looked back and noticed that how wild and out of control Zhao's attack was, "No self-control."

An idea formed into his mind as he smirked and he looked to the riverboats. He turned his attention back to Zhao as the man challenged, "Stand and fight, Avatar!"

"Oh, were we fighting?" Aang sarcastically asked as he put his plan into motion. Then he taunted, "I thought you were just getting warmed up."

"I was." Zhao said, falling for Aang's taunts. Then he shot more fire at Aang. Aang kept ahead of the fire while making his way to the boat. Zhao then looked to two Hydra soldiers and ordered, "Stop him!"

The two soldiers raised their blasters and started to fire at Aang. Aang lifted the shield and the shots all bounced off the hard metal. Then jumping up into the air he tossed the shield and used his airbending to guide it. The vibranium shield struck one soldier in the face before striking another in the side. Both men fell to the ground with a grunt. Aang jumped over a horizontal wave of fire and asked when he landed, "Is that all you got?" Then he jabbed, "Man, they'll make any an admiral these days."

With a twitch of irritation, Zhao yelled as he threw another fire ball. When he neared the first ship, he used his airbending to recover Steve's shield. Once it was back in his hands he jumped onto the first riverboat with Zhao right behind him. Landing on the deck, Aang then jumped onto the roof of the cabin and twisted as he landed. Then placing a hand next to his mouth, Aang then taunted, "Ahoy!" Then turning around he mooned Zhao and shook his rear as he said, "I'm Admiral Zhao!"

Zhao growled in anger to this before moving to jump onto the boat. When he landed on the deck, he launched a fire ball at Aang, but the Airbender jumped off the roof before the flames reached him. The cabin and the space around it burst into flames as Aang landed at the back. Then jumping to the next boat he turned around right when Zhao appeared. Aang then jabbed, "I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Zuko."

His eyes went wide and he screamed as he fell backwards. He stared as the flames rushed over his head, Zhao gritted his teeth in anger when Aang stood up and said as glanced back, "Sloppy. Very sloppy."

Zhao growled in irritation as Aang ran off along the boat. Then he jumped onto the next boat after Aang. Aang quickly jumped onto the next boat and turned left as Zhao sent a stream of fire after him. Aang ran into the cabin when Zhao sent in a fireball after him. A stream of fire burst through one window while Aang came sliding out of another right before Zhao sent another flow. Aang ran in front of the cabin and took a moment to catch his breath. But when he looked to either sides of the cabin, he saw that Zhao wasn't there. The admiral was waiting atop of the cabin and jumped. Aang moved to get off, but Zhao twisted as he landed before the Airbender. Assuming his stance he said, "Nowhere to run now," Aang assumed his own stance with the shield in front of him as he said, "you little smart mouth."

Zhao came forward with a double palm thrust and sent a flame of fire while Aang jumped over him. The fire impacted the cabin as Aang landed behind the admiral with his arms crossed. With a knowing smirk, Aang then said, "You've lost this battle."

Zhao responded by throwing a fire ball which Aang blocked with the shield. Zhao then tried to use a flaming sweep kick, but Aang jumped into the air and landed on the bow of the boat. Zhao then questioned, "Are you crazy?" He then pointed out, "You haven't thrown a single blow."

"No," Aang said as he smirk stayed. Then he gestured around them, "but you have."

Zhao looked around and his eyes widened at what he had done. The boat to the left started to sink while the other two continued to burn. Aang then reminded, "Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint."

Aang then jumped into the river to escape the burning boats. Zhao had closed his eyes in anger while a vein appeared on his forehead. When he opened them, he let out a yell of fury as he knew that they were right. But his anger caused the flames to grow even more. Aang resurfaced and spit some of the river water out before looking Zhao's direction and said, "Have a nice walk home!"

"Aang, come on, let's go!" Sokka shouted as they were on the shore in front of him. Aang quickly made his way to Appa and jumped into the bison's saddle. Nat then flicked the reins and said, "Yip, yip."

Appa responded by slamming his tail against the ground and taking off into the air. But before they got too high, Aang looked back and asked, "Wait, where's Jeong Jeong?"

"He disappeared." Sokka said as they all looked down at the camp. He was pretty sure that they all had as he said, "They all did."

x

Chey was the only one left in the camp as he walked down the path. It was then that he noticed that the place was empty. He looked around and called out, "Hey, where'd everybody go?" He looked around as he shouted, "Very funny, guys!"

x

Back at the boats, Zhao looked at the destruction he had caused before looking down in shame. The sounds of footsteps made the admiral look back as his troops had returned from the hunt. One of the Hydra soldiers stepped forward and said, "No sign of Jeong Jeong sir, or any of the other warriors that was with him."

"Well, that's just great." Zhao commented as he stepped out of the water. Looking to the two fallen Hydra soldiers he ordered the others, "Get them on their feet, and get them moving back to the town."

x

The sun was starting to set as Appa flew through the air as the group talked about what happened. Katara looked down to Aang's arm and gasped, "Aang, you're burned."

Aang looked down and saw that she was right. He hadn't notice when it had happened but it was starting to sting a little. Moving closer she said, "Let me help you."

They all watched as Katara pulled her water out of the water skin and moved it around her right hand. She then placed her hands against the burn. Then taking a deep breath she then focused and removed it. When the water fell away from Aang's arm the burn mark was gone as well. Relieved and surprised, Aang said, "Wow, that's good water."

"I didn't even know you could do that." Natasha said as she lightly nudged the girl. But Sokka was confused and asked her, "When did you learn how to do that?"

"I guess I always knew." Katara said with a smile. Then deciding to bring up some memories with a smirk Sokka sarcastically said, "Oh, well, then thanks for all the first aid over the years." Then he listed some events, "Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble," And then he held out his right thumb as he said, "and that time I had two fishhooks in my thumb!"

"Two?" Aang asked, not knowing what fully happened. Even Steve was confused by it and asked, "Who gets two fishhooks stuck in their thumb?"

"He tried to get the first fishhook out with another fishhook." Katara explained with a small smile. Then Sokka said, "Oh, and the time that mink snake bit me. Thanks for healing that up. That was great, really helpful."

"At least she was looking out for you." Natasha teased as Appa continued flying.

x

Back on Zhao's ship, the admiral was waiting up at the top of the tower for an arrival. The sound of a portal opening signaled the arrival. Zhao turned around to see the Red Skull stepping onto the ship. He came closer to Zhao as the portal closed before saying, "The Fire Lord would like a report on your efforts to capturing the Avatar and the Avengers."

"Apparently, I have no such luck." Zhao said as he looked down. Johann Schmidt then said, "Your attempts to capture them is bearing no fruit, just like the Fire Prince or the Winter Soldier."

"I ask that you not compare me to _him_ , please." Admiral Zhao commented, not liking to be on the same level with Zuko. But he took a deep breath as he practiced restraint. Then he looked to the leader of Hydra and said, "I plan to hold a meeting in a week or two, I ask that you join us. I have something big planned to not only help us capture the Avatar and the two Avengers with him, but to also further our victory in the war."

"I will see what I can do." The Red Skull said as he turned away. But before he could open the return portal, Zhao said, "We may need to have a talk about Hydra's greatest weapon."

The Red Skull looked back with narrowed eyes to the admiral's words.

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

 **Author's Note:** And with Chapter Sixteen done, I can proudly say that we are eighty percent done with Book One. I apologize for the lack of Avenger action in this one, but I promise to make it up to you in the next chapter. And be on the look out for a special trailer. It'll be telling the winning answer to a certain poll I have, so keep casting those votes and see who'll be right. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	17. Chapter 17: Northern Air Temple

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **A/N:** I'm going to try and give Stan Lee's cameo more of a role in this one. Wish me luck.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

" _No one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years." Gran-Gran told Aang, "We thought they were extinct."_

" _Extinct?" Aang asked in disbelief and worry._

" _Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" Katara asked in confusion since he didn't know about the war. Aang glanced back as he said, "I don't know. A few days maybe?"_

 _Aang's face turned to horror when she said, "you were in there the whole time."_

 _Aang made a point of his own about the Airbenders, "Just because no one has seen an Airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped."_

" _Firebenders? They were here?" Aang asked in horror when he came across the bodies._

 _After letting his anger out, Aang looked distressed as he realized, "If Firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones too." He sounded truly heartbroken as he said, "I really am the last Airbender."_

 _As they flew away on Appa, both Aang and Momo continued to look back to the Southern Air Temple as the clouds started to hide it._

 _Then Zhao looked to the leader of Hydra and said, "I plan to hold a meeting in a week or two, I ask that you join us. I have something big planned to not only help us capture the Avatar and the two Avengers with him, but to also further our victory in the war."_

" _I will see what I can do." The Red Skull said as he turned away. But before he could open the return portal, Zhao said, "We may need to have a talk about Hydra's greatest weapon."_

 _The Red Skull looked back with narrowed eyes to the admiral's words._

x

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Seventeen: The Northern Air Temple**

It was early one night as the group was amongst others as they sat around a campfire in front of a gazebo. Some folks were sitting on benches while others sat on the ground with their hands in their sleeves. The kids sat on a bench while Steve and Natasha stood behind them. Katara and Sokka had once again put their heavy coats as the air was getting colder the closer they got to the North Pole. And Momo sat on Aang's shoulder as they listened. While most of the audience listened to the story with interest, Sokka was the only one looking bored. The man said, "So, travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man, a member of a secret group of airwalkers, who laugh at gravity," Then he sounded dramatic as he pointed and said, "and laugh at those bound to the earth by it."

Aang smiled as he thought that it was a great story about Airbenders. The man went around the campfire to collect money from telling the story. Momo chittered as Aang looked to his friend and asked, "Aren't Airbender stories the best?"

"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Katara asked, truly curious about what Airbenders did. Aang then said, "I laugh at gravity all the time."

"Even when you hit the ground?" Natasha teasingly asked. Though Aang shot her a slight glare, he couldn't hold it long and started laughing, "Gravity."

"Jingle, jingle." The man said as he came up to Sokka with his hat. The teen looked nervous about having to pay with money. He looked up to the man with a nervous frown as he began to feel through his pockets. When he thought he had something, the teen held closed hands and lifted them. When he uncurled them, he revealed to only have a few crumbs and a twitching bug that chirped as it moved. Then he offered a, "Sorry."

"Aw… cheapskates." The man said as he turned and walked away. Steve sighed and said, "Wait."

The man stopped as Steve walked around the bench and dropped a couple of coppers into the hat. Natasha looked to him with a questioning look and asked, "Steve, where'd you get that money?"

"I've been saving it since Omashu." Steve said with a shrug. All four of his friends' jaws dropped as Sokka then asked, "So you could have paid for something that actually mattered, like new supplies and stuff?"

Steve shrugged again as the man said, "Much appreciated."

Sokka breathed a sigh of relief as he put his stuff back. He glanced back when Nat gave him a questioning look.

"Hey!" Aang said as he got up and ran after the man. When he came up to the man who was with an older man, Aang said, "Thanks for the story."

"Tell it to the cap." The story teller said as he showed Aang the cap without looking to him. He jingled the cap and the coins inside and one fell out. Aang rifled over himself as he searched while Momo was quick to jump off of Aang's shoulder and pick it up. The man turned just when Momo dropped it into the hat and said while petting the lemur, "Aw, much obliged, little bat thing."

Aang, having stopped looking for money, looked to the man and said, "It means a lot to hear Airbender stories." The man stood up as he said, "It must have been a hundred years ago your great-grandpa met them."

"What are you prattling about, child?" The man asked with a comical face. Then pointing to the man behind him he said, "Great grandpappy saw the airwalkers last week."

"Yeah." The old man said as he raised a hand. Hope filling in his heart, Aang suddenly hoped and believed that he wasn't the only Airbender. He walked back over to the others. With a huge smile he said, "Guys, you'll never believe what I just learned."

"What is it, Aang?" Steve asked as the boy was looking really excited. Aang then said, "I just learned that there might be more Airbenders!"

All four of their faces became shocked to this. Aang then asked, "If I'm able to ask the man if he spotted them near the Northern Air Temple, could we maybe go and see if it's true."

The four looked to themselves as they thought about it. They began to talk amongst themselves about it. On the one hand, they knew how important this would be to Aang. And it wouldn't take too much time out of their journey to the North Pole. Steve looked between them and they all nodded. Turning to Aang he said, "As long as we're not there for too long, I don't see a problem with it."

"But, on two conditions." Natasha said as she held up two fingers. Katara then said, "Number One, let's not get our hopes up about the Airbenders." Then she kindly reminded, "Most of us aren't wanting a repeat of what happened at the Southern Temple."

"And two," Sokka added, "that it doesn't turn out like our trip to Omashu. I'd rather not have another crazy adventure like that."

"Deal." Aang said with a nod. Sokka then said, "Well, go and see about the directions and then we can head out in the morning."

x

The next day after getting confirmation the previous night, Appa flew high over the clouds as they headed towards the Northern Air Temple. Aang sat at the reins while the others looked around the area. Though Sokka was currently whittling something with his knife while Momo watched from behind the teen. As they continued flying, Aang recognized the area and said with a smile, "Hey, we're almost to the Northern Air Temple." Then he looked back to the passengers in the saddle and told them, "This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo."

"Huh, sounds like a neat sport." Natasha said with a shrug. Sokka shook his head and stopped whittling for a moment as he said, "Well, you can count me out of this one."

"Still sore about you and Aang's Air Ball game?" Steve lightly teased. The others giggled while Sokka gave the super soldier a deadpanned glance. Katara moved over to Sokka while he worked and she curiously asked while smiling, "Do you think we'll really find Airbenders?"

"Do you want me to be like you, or totally honest?" Sokka asked while not looking up. Katara's smile dropped as she crossed her arms and questioned, "Are you saying I'm a liar?"

"I'm saying you're an optimist." Sokka said as he looked up from his work. Then a small smirk formed on his face as he looked down and continued, "Same thing, basically."

"Hey, guys!" Aang called from the front. Steve, Sokka, Katara and Natasha all moved to the front of the saddle. They all looked in amazement as Aang said, "Look at this!"

Appa flew a little higher as they came upon the Northern Air Temple. It was almost like the Southern Air Temple except the design of the place was much different and the roof tiles were a different color. Natasha noticed something flying around the temple and said, "Look! Something's flying!"

Aang's face fell while Katara gasped in excitement, "They really are Airbenders!"

A dejected Aang bowed his head as he thought different. Then leaning against Appa he said with his arms crossed, "No, they're not."

"Aang?" Steve asked as he looked down at the boy from the saddle. Sokka then questioned, "What do you mean they're not?" Then he pointed to the people in the air and stated, "Those guys are flying!"

"But not like how real Airbenders, huh?" Natasha deduced as she guessed Aang's distress. Katara and Steve's faces fell they look between the flying people and Aang nodded and he said, "Gliding, maybe, but not flying." Then he pointed out, "You can tell by the way they move."

"So, real Airbenders, do it differently?" Steve asks before remembering when he saw Aang flying the first time. Aang nodded again and said, "They're not airbending." He looked at the flying people with an incredulous look and said, "Those people have no spirit."

"I'm sorry, Aang." Natasha offered as she slid down next to him. He looked to her as she said, "I know how much this was meaning to you, and I was really hoping for it too."

She would have continued but Aang leaned forward and looked up into the sky. One of the flying people was coming at them really quick. Steve, Sokka and Katara, who were all standing up for some reason, ducked and shouted in a panic as the person passed over their heads. They looked to the person as he laughed while he flew over them. Aang took up his staff as they watched the kid fly. Katara then said, "I don't know, Aang." She pointed to him as she stated, "That kid seemed pretty spirited."

They continue to watch as the kid flew right past them and back to the Temple. The boy looked back to them with a smile. Aang looked to him before a grin grew on his face. Aang then jumped off of Appa's head and spun his staff really fast over his own head. Then opening the glider he took off after the boy. Steve then looked to the others and asked, "What does he think he's doing?"

"Probably gonna show that kid how it's really done." Nat said with a smirk. Everyone looked to see that the people gliding had them and Appa completely surrounded. Two of them flew in front of Appa and made him jerk back with a startled groan, resulting in the four of them nearly falling off. Natasha leaned against the bison's back while Steve held on to the saddle. Katara stumbled back and crashed into her brother and they both grunted. Momo peeked around the Waterbender while she looked to her brother as Sokka said, "We better find some solid ground before it finds us."

"No arguments here." Natasha said as she took the reins of a groaning Appa. She began to guide him to what looked like a landing platform. Appa growled as he turned and landed on the temple grounds.

The boy continued to laugh as he soared through the skies ahead of Aang and flew a little higher. Soon, Aang caught up to him and moved up higher into the sky behind the kid. Aang had a serious look as he was beginning to catch up to the boy.

"Go, Teo!" One of the children on the landing platform shouted as they watched. Another then shouted, "Show that bald kid how it's done!"

The boy, Teo, and Aang flew high in the air before doing a couple of loops. They then glided over a cloud before Teo maneuvered his special glider for another loop and then flew close to the temple with Aang right behind him. The two then flew towards the ground while facing each other, more or less. They continued to fall in a winding pattern. As they continued to fall and were now side by side, Teo looked to Aang and said, "Hey, there. You're pretty good."

"Yeah, I know." Aang said with a neutral expression. But then he stated, "But I can do more than fancy gliding."

To emphasize his point as they came around each other in a crisscross Aang looped around before heading towards the temple. He flew underneath a bridge while Teo watched from above. As he came around a curved wall, Aang let go of his glider and ran along the wall with his glider not too far out of reach. As he continued to run, Aang quickly jumped into the air and formed an Air Scooter before using his airbending to stay on. Aang rode it until reaching the end of the wall and jumping back to his glider. As he climbed higher into the sky with a smirk on his face, Teo was impressed as he said to the Airbender when Aang came up behind him, "Wow, I don't think I can do that," but then the boy smiled before saying, "but here's a good one."

Then pulling on a string, a small ball of gas opened and a stream of fog blasted out of it. Teo then began moving through the sky as the stream poured out. Then rotating his special glider he passed over and around some clouds as he formed a shape with his smoke. He did a few loopty loops before turning skyward again. When Teo started falling towards the ground again, he then started to fly over another cloud. Then he swerved through the air before going up again. Then he put a finishing touch by making an image of a cut-eyed looking Aang. The kids on the ground started cheering while the real Aang looks exactly like his sky portrait. He quirked a brow when Teo came up next to him and asked, "What do you think?"

"It's great." Aang said as he looked away. His friends down on the ground looked to each other before making their way to where the other kids were. The two then began to land where everyone else was and Aang touched down first. He landed in front of the siblings and the Avengers before spinning his staff closed. Nat walked up to the Airbender and said, "If it helps, I thought you did great."

Aang slightly smiled to this, but it dropped when they looked up to see Teo coming in for a landing. The wheels of his glider raced across the platform before the boy pulled on a brake, making his glider come skidding to a stop and a turn. The other children walked up to their friend while three helped remove the glider from his wheelchair. When they walked off, Teo lifted his goggles and rolled himself over to the group. As he stopped in front of them, "Hey…" then something about Aang clicked and he said, "you're a real Airbender." His eyes went wide as he excitedly said, "You must be the Avatar."

He placed his left hand against his head as he shouted, "That's amazing! I-I've heard stories about you!"

"Thanks." Aang said as he sheepishly rubbed his head. Teo then looked to the other four and asked, "And you must be his friends, Sokka, Katara, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff."

"Nice to meet you, kid." Steve said with a salute. Teo chuckled as he repeated the captain's action. Sokka then became excited as he said, "Wow! This glider chair is incredible."

He walked over as the kids brought the glider piece back and examined it. Teo turned his chair as he said, "If you think this is good. Wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed."

Rolling towards the temple entrance he looked back to the group and gestured, "Follow me."

The five of them then followed the boy inside. As they walked through the corridor, they looked up to see large metal pipes protruding from the walls. One of the pipes even went into the floor. But as they came to the room on the other side of the hall, Aang's face fell as he saw what happened to the temple. Metal pipes and machinery ran all over the place, and it somewhat overshadowed the rooms original design. Steam hissed as an elevator of sorts lifted higher into the room. Aang looked around to see that so much has change in his people's absence. He looked over to an Air Nomad statue to see that pipes ran around and behind it. Then he glanced up at all the machinery as a giant wheel turned. Steve, Natasha and Katara could all tell that this was having a major effect on their friend. The only one who didn't seemed to be bothered with it was Sokka as he said, "Wow!"

"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place." Teo said with pride for his father. Then he explained the machinery, "Everything is powered by hot air." They looked to see a woman boarding an elevator as he said, "It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're gliding."

When the elevator brought the woman to her designated floor, she got off and walked along a catwalk. A wide-eyed yet distraught Aang then said, "This place is unbelievable."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Teo said as he looked to Aang.

"No," Aang said as he glanced to a confused Teo and walked away, "just unbelievable."

"Aang used to come here a long time ago." Katara explained to Teo while coming up beside him. Then she tried to make it sound as if it weren't Teo and his people's fault, "I think he's a little shocked that it's so… different."

"So better." Sokka said from where he stood, not really seeing that it made Aang feel a little worse. Steve crossed his arms at Sokka's insecurity and sarcastically said, "Nice one."

Katara and Nat walked over to Aang as he looked at another section of the wall that was covered in pipes. Inserting the pipes had caused the cracks that were already there to grow. As they looked upon the ruined murals Aang dejectedly said, "This is supposed to be the history of my people."

"Hey," Natasha said as Katara walked up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The spy of S.H.I.E.L.D. then said, "At least the outside is mostly the same, plus there are other spots around the temple that probably have been altered."

If Aang had heard her, he didn't hear her as he walked away and towards a fountain in the middle of the room. The statue at the top was of a bison that held something and green water flowed through it. Aang walked up to the bubbling water with a grimace before looking up to the bison statue. Smoke erupted from the bison's mouth and Aang jumped back with a yell. Katara walked up to him and placed her hand on his back as she said, "Nat's right, Aang. Maybe not everything in the temple changed and is still the same."

A little while later, the group walked across an arched bridge to another section of the temple. When they made it to the other end, they could see many doors aligning the walls. Steve then asked, "What's this part of the temple, Aang?"

"This was the dorm rooms for the Airbenders." Aang said with a smile, seeing as this part hadn't been touched. While Sokka and Teo stood back the other four moved towards a statue. Then Aang added, "It's nice to see at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined."

"And there are probably more too." Natasha said with a shrug. Aang looked to her and agreed with a smile. They continued to admire the statue when someone shouted, "Look out!"

They all shielded themselves when something bashed through both the wall and the statue's head. Everyone coughed from the dust before looking at the newly made hole with wide eyes. They saw a makeshift wrecking ball dangling in the air while five people walked out from the rubble. They were led by a man with a bald spot and two pointy sides of his hair. When the man saw them he said, "What the doodle?" Then he placed a hand behind his back while wagging a finger as he scolded, "Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites?"

"To be fair," Nat shrugged while crossing her arms, "there wasn't a sign for a warning."

"True." The man said as he stroked his beard. Then he said, "Still, we have to make room for the bathhouse."

"Do you know what you did?" Aang angrily questioned as he held his staff with both hands. Then he angrily accused, "You just destroyed something sacred," Then he got even more angry for the reason behind it, "for a stupid bathhouse."

"Well, people around here are starting to stink." The man said in his defense while fanning his hand in front of his nose. A really ticked off Aang then shouted, "This whole place stinks!"

Then with a shout he jumped in the air with his staff raised. Then bringing it down hard he sent an airwave that knocked the wrecking ball off its support. The machine fell down the mountain side. A giant dust cloud drifted from the dorm room as Aang then angrily said, "This is a sacred temple."

"Aang! Calm down." Steve said as he moved in front of the boy. Natasha then said from behind, "We know you're upset about it, but going into a rage isn't going to help."

"I guess." Aang said as he calmed down a little. Then pointing a finger to the man he said, "You can't treat it this way." He walked up and said, "I've seen it when the monks were here I know what it's supposed to be like."

"The monks?" The man in front of Aang asked, confused about what he was talking about. Steve then said, "Sir, this is an Airbender temple. Aang's only looking out for what his people held dear."

"But he's only twelve." The man said gesturing to Aang. Teo came up to him and said, "Dad, he's the Avatar."

"And he knows a lot about this temple." Natasha added with a smirk. Aang smiled in appreciation to this while Teo said, "Not to mention that he used to come here a hundred years ago."

"What are you doing?" Aang asked as he was still a little upset. Then he was calm as he asked, "Why did you come here?"

"Hmm…" Teo's father said as he thought of how to answer this. Then he put both questions together as he said, "Doing here…" Then he explained, "A long time ago-" He looked back as he clarified, "not a hundred years, I assure you,

"My people had become refugees after a terrible flood." Then slightly running to his son he said, "My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother." Teo looked down in sadness to this, as did the five of them. Teo's father then sniffled before continuing, "I needed somewhere to rebuild," Then gesturing to the temple he sounded hopeful as he said, "and then I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it. Everywhere, pictures of flying people, but empty, nobody home." He jumped up as he spread his arms to mimic the portraits and ran around, "Then I came across these fan-like contraptions."

Aang moved in the man's path as he said, "Our gliders."

"Yes, little light flying machines." Teo's father said as he flapped his hands up and down. Then pointing to his son and said, "They gave me an idea. Build a new life for my son in the air." He turned and walked to the wreckage done both by him and Aang as he said, "Then everyone would be on equal ground." He placed his hands behind his back as he said, "So to speak."

"That's actually insightful." Steve admitted. Teo's father then said, "We're just in the process of improving," Then he turned to Aang and said, "or better yet, renovating the place of what's already here, making necessary changes."

Most of the group was moved by his speech as Natasha and Steve hung on to every word. Aang was still a little on the fence while Katara used the Airbender's overshirt to wipe her eyes and Sokka fought to keep from crying. The Mechanist then said, "After all, isn't that what nature does?"

"Nature, however, knows where to stop." Aang said as he walked up to the man. Teo's father looked to the wreckage and admitted, "I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress does have a way of getting away from us."

He looked to another spot in the courtyard and said, "Look at the time."

Everyone looked as he checked a trio of candles and a hammer. Teo's father looked to his men as they were standing around or taking notes and said, "Come, the pulley system must be oiled before dark."

"Wait," Sokka said as he walked up to the candles and asked, "how can you tell the time from that thing?" Then he pointed to them and pointed out, "The notches all look the same."

"The candle will be able to tell us." The Mechanist assured as he walked up next to the skeptical Sokka. Then turning to the candles he said, "Watch."

Both he and Sokka kept watching until the flame popped four times. Impressed, Sokka then deduced as he turned to the Mechanist, "You put spark powder in the candle."

"Four flashes." The Mechanist said, "So it's exactly four hours past midday," Then he turned to Sokka and made a funny by saying, "Or as I call it, four o'candle."

This caused Sokka to start laughing at it. The Mechanist then said, "If you like that, wait till you see my finger-safe knife sharpener." He held up his left hand which revealed that three of his fingers had been cut off, "Only took it three tries to get it right."

The five from the sidelines winced at the sight of the man's missing fingers. The Mechanist then removed the fake fingers and casually tossed them to Sokka. The Water Tribe teen caught them before screaming at the sight while the Mechanist walked past him. He then tapped Sokka's shoulder and said, "Follow me."

"Hey, Aang," Teo said and looked to the Airbender, "I want to show you something."

"I'll go with Sokka to make sure that he doesn't get into any trouble." Steve said before he followed the Mechanist and the others out. Nat then shrugged and said, "I guess that it's just us four."

Teo then began to wheel out of the dorms with Aang, Katara and Natasha following behind.

They came through a dark corridor that had pipes in it as well. Nat then said, "I'll say this, your dad really knows how to expand."

"Yeah, he might overdo it a little." Teo said, "But it's mostly to provide us with what we need."

"Eh, I can't argue with that." Natasha said as they kept walking. Aang then said, "I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same."

"I don't know about that." Teo said as he stopped and looked back. Reaching down he picked up a small black and white crab before saying, "The temple might be different," Nat and Katara looked to the little crab in his hands as he continued while handing it to Katara, "but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendants of the ones that lived here a long time ago."

Aang moved to get a closer look as they all watched as the crab moved from side to side in Katara's hands. As she lightly touched the shell making the crab hide for a moment, Katara then said, "You're right. They're kind of keepers of the temple's origins."

She turned and allowed Aang to hold the little crab in his own hands. He smiled as the crab curled up in his left palm before allowing Natasha to hold the crab. She laughed as the crab repeated its motions of moving side to side in her hands. They looked to the boy when he said, "Besides, there is one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all."

The three had followed Teo down another corridor to a familiar looking door. Katara then said, "Hey. It's just like the one at the other Air Temple."

Natasha looked about and said, "And it looks like you were right, Teo. Your father and his guys haven't been down here yet."

"And only an Airbender can open the door." Teo said as he turned his wheelchair to turn to them. Aang's fears were slightly relieved as he said, "So inside it's completely untouched," the Airbender looked to the door as Teo finished, "just the way the monks left it."

Then he had a personal wish as he said, "I've always wondered what it was like in there."

"Aang?" Katara asked as she looked to her friend. Aang lowered his head and shut his eyes as he remained firm, "I'm sorry. This is the last part of the temple that's the same as it was." He looked back to it as he said, "I want it to stay that way."

"I completely understand." Teo said, though he was disappointed. Nat then said, "We'll respect your wishes, Aang."

"I just wanted you to know it was here." Teo then added with a smile. Aang then respectfully said, "Thanks."

All four of them turned to walk back down the hall. Natasha let the children go first as she looked about the hall. She looked back to the door and when she looked up she saw a small hole above the door. Keeping up with the kids, she made a mental note to return soon.

x

In another section of the temple, the Mechanist, Sokka and Steve walked down a flight of stairs underground. They had just finished oiling the pulley systems. All three of them held a lantern to see where they were going. Steve then noticed that a few things were in holes that had been cut out of the walls. Steve looked to the Mechanist and asked, "Do you think that Earthbenders did those."

"Mm. Perhaps." The Mechanist said as they kept descending. They stopped at a few of the holes and Sokka said, "These lanterns are terrible. I can't see."

"And yet you haven't tripped." Steve pointed out as they continued on. Sokka lightly glared at him before looking down at their light source. Sokka removed the lid and saw that it was filled with fireflies and asked, "Why would you want to use fireflies for light?"

One of the fireflies flew out as the Mechanist looked back and shouted, "Hey, close that up. They'll get loose." He walked up to the teen and said, "Fireflies are a nonflammable light source."

"What's down here that you can't use torches or anything like that?" Steve asked as he turned to the two. They kept walking down the stairs as the Mechanist explained, "You'll see in a moment."

They walked up to a heavily fortified wooden door. Steve noticed that there was also some kind of sealant on it as well. The Mechanist then tested to see if the sealant was still in place. Then he told Steve and Sokka, "Both of you, cover your noses and hold your breath."

All three of them pinched their noses and took a deep breath. Then turning back to the door, he slid the little window on the door open and they were all able to look in. Sokka glanced to the Mechanist and questioned, "Okay, so you brought us all the way down here to see an empty room."

"It's not empty, Sokka. Otherwise a door wouldn't be this secured." Steve said. Then he glanced to the Mechanist and said, "Right?"

"He's right, Sokka." The Mechanist said as he slid the window closed again. He then revealed, "It's filled to the brim with natural gas. Came across it my first time here." Then he revealed, "Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time." He raised the lantern to his brows as he said, "Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky-high. Thought my eyebrows would never grow back."

"And this is the reason you use fireflies when you come down here." Steve guessed. The Mechanist nodded and then said, "Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time, we've gas leaks."

Then all three checked the sealant from every angle as the Mechanist continued, "And they're nearly impossible to find."

"So this place is an explosion waiting to happen." Sokka deduced as he stopped inspecting the sealant. The Mechanist nodded and said, "Yes. Until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell or touch."

"The Airbenders who lived here probably knew of the problem and how to do it." Steve said as he finished inspecting his spot. Then he looked between them and said, "It's too bad I don't have a way to contact my world. Then we'd be able to find your leaks easily with the machines that we have. Or if I had two of my friends here…"

"It would be beneficial." The Mechanist admitted. But then he said, "But no sense in wishing on what we don't have."

x

Back up top, the group had come back to platform to glide. Katara had asked Teo to teach her how to use their gliders. Some of the other kids were already flying. Teo's glider stood at the ready while Aang and Natasha stood off to the side. Katara held her glider as she stood at the edge of the landing platform. Teo then told her, "The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you, something lighter than air." He rolled closer as he said, "And that something takes over when you fly."

Katara set her glider to the side as she looked to those already gliding. Her nerves got the better of her and she said, "I've changed my mind. I think I was born without that something."

"Oh, come on, Katara." Natasha chuckled before saying, "Just give it a try."

"Oh yeah." The Waterbender argued as she glanced back at the spy, "Then why don't you have a glider too. Why don't you try gliding with the rest of us."

"I have business elsewhere." Nat said with her arms crossed, knowing that it wasn't exactly a lie. Teo then said to Katara, "And everyone has it."

"Spirit." Aang said. They all looked to him and Teo asked, "What?"

Aang came closer and said, "That's the something you're talking about."

"Yeah." Teo said as he thought about it, "I suppose it is."

"Well, go and let your spirits soar." Nat said with a smile. Pointing to the temple she said, "I'll be inside if you need me."

She walked in as they prepared themselves to glide.

x

Natasha had just walked in when she saw Steve, Sokka and the Mechanist walking through another corridor. She quickly ran up to them and tapped on Steve's shoulder. All three of them looked to find her standing there with a smile. Then she asked, "Could I borrow Steve, please?"

"Uh…" Sokka said. Steve then shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Great. Follow me." Natasha said as she turned down another corridor. Steve looked to Sokka and the Mechanist before following after Natasha. When he had caught up to her, he then asked, "Mind telling me what this is about?"

"You'll see." Was all she said as they continued walking.

x

It didn't take them very long to reach the hall that lead to the giant door. Steve then said, "So you brought me here to see the door that can be opened only by Airbenders." He looked to her and said, "And this is important, how exactly?"

"What do you notice about this particular hall?" Natasha asked as she walked over to the door. Steve looked about and noticed that there was a huge lack of pipes. And the door practically looked untouched as well. Steve then said, "It's almost like they skipped the entire hall for a reason."

"But for what reason?" Natasha said as she looked along the door and up to the hole in the ceiling. Looking back to the super soldier she said, "Quick, give me a boost."

Steve walked over and removed his shield from his back before placing it on the ground. Nat stepped on it and fought to keep her balance as Steve lifted the shield to where she could see through the hole. As she started looking he asked, "See anything."

"Mostly a red light." Natasha said as she could barely see. Steve found it odd because there were no lights in the Southern Air Temple. Nat then noticed something coming out of the hole. It looked to be a piece of string. She looked down and said, "There's a string coming out of the hole. Most likely a trip where of some kind," she looked to see that the wire moved from above the door and along the wall with the windows, "and it goes to somewhere else in the temple."

"Are you sure the light's all you can see?" Steve asked. Nat then looked again and saw something, "I do see something, but I can barely tell what it is, even with the light."

Steve then lowered his shield so Natasha could come down. Placing a hand to his chin he questioned, "What could be so important in that room where it would need a trip wire?"

"I'm not sure." Nat shook her head. The two began to move Then she said, "I'll go talk to the Mechanist, you go and check on the kids."

Steve nodded and the two parted ways.

x

Meanwhile, Aang, Katara and Teo stood at the edge before Teo said, "Are you ready?"

"No!" A really frightened Katara said as she kept a tight grip on the glider's handle bars. Then taking a deep breath, she jumped off the edge with a scream. Aang and Teo were quick to follow after her. Katara's screams turned into laughter as she continued to glide on the air currents. All three of them glided higher into the air as Katara happily said, "I can't believe I'm flying."

"Just make sure you keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug." Aang advised as he flew up next to her. It wasn't a problem for a certain flying lemur as he caught a bug as it flew into his mouth. He flew off as he was being watched by Aang and Katara. Katara then said, "Teo was right about the air." She looked to him, "All I had to do was trust it. Let it carry me."

"Even though Teo's not an Airbender," Aang said with a smile, his thoughts about him starting to brighten, "he really does have the spirit of one."

Aang turned on his glider to descend from the air. He joined Teo back on the landing platform. He used his airbending to land and closed his glider. Thinking about what he had just said and how he felt about Teo's people and the temple, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to let him see a little more about Airbender culture. He smiled as he said to Teo, "I've been thinking. If you want to see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you."

"Great." Teo said with a smile. Steve stepped up and said, "I'm glad that you are, too."

Aang looked to his friend and asked, "Why?"

"Me and Nat had just checked the door out again and found it a little odd." Steve explained. Then he said, "We think there's something odd behind that door."

"Well, we're about to go there now." Aang said, thinking it was serious if he and Nat thought so. They all looked up when Katara shouted, "Wait!" She kept flying by as she asked, "How do I land this thing? What if I land over an…"

She started gagging on something before shouting, "Blech!" She continued flying back and forth as she shouted, "Bug! Bug!" The three boys grimaced at the thought of swallowing a bug. She gagged really hard before shouting, "That was a definitely bug!"

x

Sokka was currently with the Mechanist in his own quarters as the man went over a blueprint of some kind. Sokka himself was looking over a few things on a shelf when he caused something to fall off with a crash while catching a few of them. Teo's father looked back and said, "I said don't touch anything."

Sokka lifted up one of the projects before a few more things fell onto his head, making him drop a small balloon model among a few other things. The stuff clattered on the floor while an egg rolled off somewhere. He and the Mechanist started to pick the stuff up as Teo's father said, "Don't worry, that experiment's old." He looked off to see where the egg went and added, "And that egg was just part of last week's lunch."

Sokka took a few sniffs before smelling something foul and gagged, "Ugh! Week-old egg smell."

"Quick, find that egg." The Mechanist said as he set the balloon project down. Sokka followed suit and dropped what he had. They crawled about the floor to look for the rotten egg.

x

Back with Aang's group, they were currently walking down the hall as Aang asked, "So what was so weird that you and Natasha had to come back to see."

"She said she saw both a wire running from that hole to somewhere else in the temple," Steve pointed. Then he added, "Then she saw a red light from the room but couldn't make out what was in there."

"Well, we're about to find out." Katara said as they neared the door. When they all stopped before it, Teo was excited and said, "I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside."

He, Steve and Katara took a step, or rolled, back as Aang took a deep breath and spread his arms out in front and behind him. Then turning two circles, he had a determined look on his face as he sent two air blasts from his palms into the pipes. Like in the Southern Air Temple, the mechanisms moved as one of the blue swirls turned over and caused the first lock to spin. Then the second swirl turned and made the lock turn as well. Then the final swirl shook a little before turning over. Steve had a firm look on his face as he waited for the doors to open.

x

Meanwhile, back in the Mechanist's office a few minutes earlier, he and Sokka were still searching for the rotten egg that had gotten away from them. Seeing as how frustrating it was, Sokka then questioned, "How could something that's so small you can't even see it make such a big stink?"

Sokka's words rung in the Mechanist's mind as he stopped searching. Looking back to the Water Tribe teen he said, "That's the solution to our problem!"

Sokka then realized what he was talking about and said, "Yeah!

"If we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar where the gas seeps up…" Sokka said as the two turned to face each other. The Mechanist then filled in the gaps by saying, "The gas will mix with the smell of rotten eggs."

"Then if there's a leak…" Sokka hypothesized. The Mechanist then said, "You smell rotten eggs." Then planning out their next move he said, "Then you'd just follow your nose to the place where the smell is coming from…"

"And plug up the hole where the gas is escaping." Sokka finished. Both he and the Mechanist exclaimed at the same time with their arms raised, "You're a genius!"

The door to the office opened and Natasha walked in. She saw that they both looked very excited and said with a smirk, "Looks like you two are getting along well."

"You could say that." Sokka shrugged. Nat's face became serious as she turned to the Mechanist and said, "I need to ask you some questions."

"Great, I do love questions when someone wants to learn." The Mechanist said as he stood up. Placing his hands together he said, "What would you like to learn, Ms. Natasha?"

"There's a hallway in the temple that's completely untouched. And yet the rest of the temple has been remodeled." Natasha said as she came closer to the Mechanist. The Mechanist himself looked a little nervous as she asked, "Why would you leave one part of the temple untouched while renovating the rest?"

"Uh, why would you ask that, Nat?" Sokka asked from the side as he had his arms crossed. Nat looked to her friend and said, "Because you've seen how Aang was upset to the changes, and when he finds a part of the temple that's not altered, there's something suspicious going on here." Turning back to the Mechanist she demanded, "And for Aang's sake, I want to know what."

But before the Mechanist could answer her question, a little bell started to ring. The Mechanist then said, "Something's wrong." Quickly heading for the door he said, "I've got to go."

Figuring that that was what the trip was connected to and she ran after him with Sokka not too far behind.

x

Back with Aang, Steve, Katara and Teo the doors creaked open. While they all went inside, their eyes went wide at the sight. They gasped at the sight of weapons of different kinds lay about the room. Some had been assembled while others were still being worked on. In the middle of the room was a war balloon with the Fire Nation Insignia that lay in the forehead of Hydra's covered by a tarp. Aang's face fell as he said, "This is a nightmare."

"Just a living one." Steve added as he looked about the room. The Mechanist, Sokka and Natasha came up behind them. The other two looked in shock while Teo's father looked to the four in front and said, "You don't understand."

Aang glanced back with a glare as he shouted and pointed at the man, "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation and Hydra!"

The Mechanist looked truly worried as he looked between them all. Sokka looked to the man and questioned, "You've been making weapons for the Fire Nation and Hydra?"

"Thank you, for restating the obvious, Captain." Natasha said as she looked to him. Then she turned to the super soldier and said, "No offense, Steve."

Steve slightly groaned to it, but knew that it wasn't important. Everyone glared at the Mechanist, but while Aang was upset that the Mechanist defiled the temple for this purpose, Teo then demanded from his father, "Explain all this, now!"

"It was about a year after we moved here." Teo's father started from the beginning, "At that time, I truly didn't know anything about the Hydra organization, but Fire Nation soldiers had found our settlement." Shrugging as he said, "You were too young to remember this, Teo. They were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them. I begged them to spare us." Then he looked truly shameful and he said, "They asked what I had to offer." He looked down as he said, "I offered my services."

They all looked either away or glared at him. Teo's father then looked to his son and said, "You must understand. I did this for you."

Teo looked away from his own father as tears welled in the boy's eyes. He then turned his wheelchair away from his father as the man tried to find his words. Steve then asked, "When did Hydra become involved in this deal?"

"A few weeks ago." The Mechanist said, "They took the more complex looking projects for someone else to work on." He shrugged as he said, "Even I don't know what they're doing with them at this point."

Teo's father then looked down in shame before turning and walking away from the room. Most of the group continued to glare after him as he walked.

x

A few minutes later, the Mechanist was currently fiddling with his balloon project. He had just given the word to fill the cellar with rotten eggs and it wouldn't be long until they could find the leak. Placing a candle in the basket with two eggs he released the balloon. He didn't even look up as the balloon floated up to the ceiling. The door behind him opened and he looked back. Aang, Teo and Steve walked into the room as the Airbender asks, "When are they coming?"

"Soon." The Mechanist said. He looked to a candle on the side and a it sparked as he said, "Very soon."

"You can't give them anymore weapons." Aang said in defiance. Steve then added, "You'd only be helping them achieve victory in the war."

"If I don't give them what they want," The Mechanist argued, "they will destroy this place."

The small balloon project burst into flames and fell to the floor in the middle of them. Steve quickly moved to is and placed his shield over it in an attempt to smother the flames. Teo looked to his father and said, "How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?"

"I need some time to think." The Mechanist said as Steve removed his shield from the invention. The man picked it up off the floor when a bell rang on the side. Looking to the three he said, "You need to leave." Then ordering, "Go!"

"We're not leaving." Teo defiantly said while he, Steve and Aang had determined looks. His father looked between the three of them and said, "Then hide. Quickly."

He pushed Teo behind a giant paper prototype while Aang and Steve hid with the boy. The Mechanist then pulled on a rope, a wheel next to the rope turned and a trap door in the middle of the room opened up. Steam hissed as an Emissary in Fire Nation robes was raised into the room by a platform. He was angry as he said, "You know better than to keep me waiting." Walking off the platform he said, "Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way."

The Mechanist looked down as he thought while Steve, Aang and Teo watched from their hiding place. The Emissary then said, "Well…" He marched up to the Mechanist and questioned, "is there a problem?"

"No." The Mechanist said. Then gesturing to the door he said, "Right this way."

But before they could leave the room, Aang used a kick to blow a table in front of the door while spinning through the air on top of the table. Looking to the Fire Nation Emissary he said with a glare, "The deal's off."

"The Avatar." The Emissary said as he was completely surprised. He felt a presence behind him and looked back to see Steve standing at the ready with his shield. The Emissary then said, "And Captain America."

"Aang, Steve, don't get involved." The Mechanist said as he stepped between Aang and the Fire Nation Emissary. The Emissary stepped away from Steve while pointing a finger at the Mechanist while threatening, "If I don't get what I came for, the Fire Nation and our allies from Hydra will burn this place to rubble."

"You really want to be making threats when we're in here?" Steve asks as he reaches for his shield. Not waiting for an answer, Aang shot a slash of air at them Emissary while shouting, "Get out of here!"

The Fire Nation Emissary grunted when the blast hit him. The blast had knocked a few hairs out of place. He looked back to the Airbender as Aang declared, "You're leaving empty-handed."

"Then the destruction of this temple will be on your head." The Emissary said as he pointed at the Avatar. Steve then moved in front of him with his shield at the ready. The Fire Nation Emissary, knowing better to pick a fight with the two of them, walked back to the trap door and stepped on it. The platform lowered itself back down and Aang twisted before using his airbending to close the trap door.

x

Later Aang, Steve and Teo rejoined their friends in another part of the temple. They stood on a bridge as the trio told them what had happened. When they had finished, Sokka then said, "This is bad, very bad."

"You guys, what are we gonna do?" Katara asked between them. Natasha then said, "Well, Steve and I have been in a situation like this before."

"Really?" Teo asked. Steve nodded and said, "When the Avengers had first come together, we were defending a city from an invasion from an alien army." He shook his head as he admitted, "It wasn't easy, but we were able to come through in the end."

"And we can do it again." Natasha said. Looking between her, Steve and the kids she said, "This isn't our first battle with these hot heads, and why should it be any different?"

"Mostly because of the weapons they have on their side." Sokka reminded. Natasha gave him a deadpanned look before saying, "What I mean is, we've faced armies before. Whether it be Fire Nation, Hydra, even pirates."

"But how can we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asked, really worried about the impending invasion. An idea came to Aang and he said, "I'll tell you guys how. We have something they don't." Then pointing to the people on gliders he said, "Air power."

They looked up as a few gliders flew overhead. They began to see what he was saying as Aang continued, "We control the sky. That's something the Fire Nation and Hydra can't do.

"We can win." Aang said as smile came on all of their faces. Their faces became surprised as a voice said, "I want to help out too."

They looked to see the Mechanist walking up to them. Aang nodded and he said, "Good." They looked to the Airbender as he said, "We'll need it."

"We are going to need a genius in this battle." Steve said. Natasha then smiled and said, "And who better to help us than a genius from this world."

The Mechanist smiled to their kind words. They all smiled to one another before they went inside to think of a plan.

x

After gathering everyone in the temple into the Mechanist's office, Sokka and then Mechanist had a plan for dealing with the enemy troops. The Mechanist had some good news, "We finally got the war balloon working thanks to Sokka."

He then complemented the boy, "This boy's a genius."

"Thank you." Sokka pridefully accepted. Then he said to the Mechanist, "You're a genius."

"Thank you." The Mechanist returned. Aang, Katara, Steve and Natasha all looked to each other with questioning looks. But then they focused on what the two had to say as Sokka started, "See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne," Then placing a candle in the basket and the top half of the balloon over the candle, he released it and then continued, "but once you did, it just kept going." They all watched as the balloon went into the air before being stopped with Sokka's hand on the string attached. Then he pulled it back down as he suggested, "You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape." Then he asked, "So the question became: How do you keep a lid on hot air?"

"Ugh." Katara scoffed as she looked to her friends and asked, "If only we knew."

All five of them started giggling at this, knowing that she was joking about Sokka. Sokka, not having heard the jab, then said, "A lid is actually the answer." He tugged on the string connected to the lid while saying, "If you control the hot air, you can control the war balloon."

"Hmm, that's actually pretty smart." Katara admitted, surprised by her brother's genius. Even Aang, Steve, Nat and Teo were surprised by this as well, as evident by their wide eyes. Sokka then discussed the other part of the plan, "Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs- smoke, slime, fire and…"

"Stink." The Mechanist said, "Never underestimate the power of stink."

"Nat and I can also deal with the troops on the ground that the bombers can't get to." Steve offered. Then he said to the Mechanist, "You also need to be careful of the weapons that Hydra is carrying."

"And we will." Teo promised.

x

It was later that day when everyone had gathered outside of the landing platform. The Mechanist and Teo's friends readied their gliders while Appa stood at the back. Those without gliders stood at the edge of the platform and looked about for the enemy soldiers. Soon the sounds of marching feet could be heard and a little girl looked back and alerted, "They're coming!"

"Are we ready?" Teo asked. Katara nodded, but she looked worried as she said, "Yes, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?"

"We can't wait on them forever." Steve said as the sounds of the marching soldiers drew closer. Aang leapt off of Appa's head and decided, "We'll have to start without it."

"They'll be sorry they're late for the party." Natasha said as he landed next to them and opened his glider. Momo landed at the top of the glider with a chitter.

Teo had a smirk as he lowered his goggles as a few friends of his readied his glider. Each of the Mechanist's gliders had been outfitted with a few of the bombs and stood in a two row formation right behind Aang. They all looked to each other while giving the one next to them a thumbs up. Aang too had a smirk on his face as he was ready. Steve and Natasha were both on Appa and stood at the back of the group. Katara stood behind Teo ready to give him a push Aang then ran forward and jumped off the edge of the landing platform. It didn't take long for everyone else to join as Katara pushed Teo close to the edge before running out of the way as the others followed suit. Those unable to fly with them cheered their friends on while the gliders took off. The gliders flew off to meet the enemy soldiers as they came marching up the mountain path. Fire Nation soldiers carried spears while the soldiers of Hydra carried rifles.

Legions of soldiers continued marching up the pass, unaware of Aang and his friends soaring above them. Aang and Teo looked down to see the location of the soldiers before looking to each and nodded to the other. Then turning their gliders to descend, all of the gliders went down to engage the enemy. Each of the gliders dive bombed into the cloud bank surrounding the mountain. The soldiers looked up as the gliders descended on them. Both Hydra and Fire Nation alike grunted when they had a slime bomb dropped onto them. The Hydra soldiers that didn't get hit raised their weapons and fired upon the gliders. The gliders were able to swerve out of the shots way before dropping their own attack at the enemy forces. A Fire Nation soldier grunted as he was struck in the face by a slime bomb. Another glider let loose a smoke bomb that engulfed a section of the path and snow dropped down the mountain. The gliders circled in the air before coming around for another run.

"Take them out of the sky, now!" A Fire Nation soldier yelled to his comrades. One Hydra soldier raised his weapon, aimed for one of the gliders and fired at them. A bolt of energy tore through the fabric of a glider and caused them to fall. Aang was quick to drop under the glider and had to struggle to use one hand to use his airbending to lift them higher into the air. He and the glider went back above the cloud bank and up to the temple. When they were in range of the landing platform, he allowed the glider to land. The glider was able to land safely and Aang shouted, "There almost here! Get ready just in case!"

Steve, Natasha and Katara nodded and prepared themselves to fight. Aang turned back and headed for the cloud bank again. When he had joined back he joined another formation of another bombing run. When they had come close to the soldiers, they released a series of smoke bombs onto the soldiers. While the Fire Nation soldiers coughed from the smoke, a few Hydra soldiers had on a gas mask and looked up to the gliders before firing at them again. The gliders swerved to get out of the way of the energy shots. But as they continued to fire, the Fire Nation soldiers were so distracted by the smoke that they backed up into a few Hydra soldiers. The gliders continued to pelt the soldiers with slime and smoke bombs before retreating.

As they had the soldiers distracted, Aang flew over the cloud bank. Jumping off his glider, he formed an Air Scooter and rode it across the snow covered ground. His actions caused an avalanche of snow to fall onto the soldiers. When he approached the end of the cliff Aang jumped off and grabbed his glider to fly off. The Fire Nation and Hydra all cried out as the avalanche fell onto them. The other gliders looked to check on their progress when Aang came up behind Teo. The soldiers who weren't buried under the snow retreated back down the path. Aang then shouted, "We've got them on the run!" To make sure that they were getting rid of them he shouted, "We need more slime!"

As one Hydra soldier ran down the path, he pulled out a radio and shouted, "We can't get in close! Send them up!"

Two gliders emerged from the cloud bank where Appa floated and turned to fly over the saddle. From in the saddle, Katara and a chirping Momo handed them another bomb to take with them. As the two gliders flew off, suddenly a giant grappling hook burst from the clouds and startled Appa. More grappling hooks followed soon after. Katara screamed as she and Momo hung for dear life. The hooks landed in the snow and fell back a little before latching onto the rocks.

Steve and Natasha waited a few yards from where the hooks landed and wondered what was coming up. More hooks shot out of the clouds and latched onto the rocky surface. Natasha looked to Steve and wondered, "I'm willing to bet that Teo's father is responsible for whatever those are."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Steve said as he pulled his helmet on and removed his shield from his back. Natasha and Cap readied themselves before running to the hooks. Aang and Teo were quick to fly by a passing Appa to the hooks as well. Captain America threw his shield at a hook and caused it to loosen. Catching his shield as it came back he threw it once more at the same hook and the hook completely disconnected from the rock and fell back down the side of them mountain. When he and Natasha reached the edge, they looked down and gasped at what they saw. Giant tanks, not like the ones from their world, but still just as dangerous looking. Instead of treads like a tank from their world would have, these tanks had large wheels to move around and had a slidable window to allow projectiles to be fired. Even Aang was surprised by the arrival of the tanks. The fliers on the gliders threw the bombs at the ascending tanks, but they were ineffective as they continued to climb.

"Well, these things are certainly gonna hard to beat." Natasha said as they continued to watch them climb. Cap then said, "Maybe we shouldn't stand so close to the edge when they get here."

"Good idea." She agreed and they both turned and ran to get a little space. Those on gliders weaved around the chains of the tanks as they knew that their attacks were useless. Though it was futile, one threw a smoke bomb at the tank. Teo watched from the side as the tanks continued climbing. Aang came in from the side, move to where his glider closed up behind him, and stuck the end where he could dislodge one of the hooks. He grunted as he jiggled the staff until the hook completely released. Aang fell through the air before opening his glider again and taking off. The tank that the chain was connected to dropped a little with a spin before another grappling hook shot out. Aang shouted in a panic before moving out of the hook's way. Like the other hooks, the new on latched onto the cliffside and the tank slammed into cliff before starting to climb again.

The gliders returned above the mountains as the tanks reached more a level ground. As the tanks neared closer to the temple as Steve and Nat stopped running and faced the tanks. The team on the gliders came flying towards the tanks opened up their windows and Firebenders shot fire balls at them. The gliders moved out of the way of the shots while still approaching the tanks. One of the tanks shot at the two Avengers, but Cap moved in front of Natasha and blocked the fireball with his shield. An idea formed in Nat's head as soldiers joined the tanks. Running out from behind the cover of the shield, she made for one of the tanks. Captain America then called out, "Natasha, come back!"

The spy didn't turn back as she jumped out of the way of one Firebender's blast and then jumped again when a Hydra soldier shot at her. When she came close to a tank Natasha jumped up onto the vehicle and jumped to dodge another fire blast. Landing on the hood of the tank she quickly opened the hatch and forced it open. Then jumping down she slammed her foot into the driver while driving elbow into the face of the Firebender. Both men fell to the floor unconscious while Natasha took the wheel. She found it a little hard as to never have driven something like this before and slightly yelled when the tank jolted. The spy quickly discovered how to operate the tank and was able to make it swerve to the left. Cap watched as the stolen tank crashed into another, backed up and slammed into it again. The stolen tank then turned and charged towards a group of soldiers.

Both Fire Nation and Hydra yelled as they jumped out of the way of the incoming tank. Captain America then took the initiative and ran at the soldiers that weren't in a tank. They saw him coming and raised their spears or guns at him. Cap held his shield by the edge before flinging it at them and ducking and rolling out of the blasters fire. The shield bounced off of one soldier to another before the third used his spear to block it. The vibranium shield was sent into the air and turned in an arch before coming back down. But before it touched the ground, Captain America came in with a kick to the Fire Nation soldier's chest before catching his trademark shield and putting it back over his left arm. When it was nice and secure he blocked a soldier jabbing his spear with the shield and dropping down. He sweep kicked the soldier's legs from underneath him and noticed a Hydra blaster lying on the ground. Picking it up, Cap then noticed that it had a stun setting and switched it to that. He yelled as he charged at another group of soldiers.

From above, the gliders continued to evade the blasts of both fire and energy weapons. Some gliders weren't lucky as the blasts blew holes or caught the edges of their gliders and they were forced to land. Firebenders and Hydra soldiers continued firing at them while the gliders still in the air dropped whatever bombs they had. Some dropped a few more slime bombs while others dropped actual explosives. As the tanks continued moving towards the temple, some of the gliders released a slime bomb right on top of the cabin of a few tanks. The slime broke on the tank and gushed inside and on the soldiers.

Aang landed in the middle of five tanks and closed up his glider. With a grim frown he raised his staff and yelled when he used his staff to send an air wave at the tank to his left before sending another to the one on his right. Then turning around he repeated by knocking over those two. Then he sent an air wave behind him. The five tanks landed hard in the snow with the cabins on the underside. But then Aang was surprised when the middle of the all of the tanks turned themselves upright and continued treading towards the mountain. He readied himself as Firebenders began to blast at him from inside the tanks and batted away and fire balls that came in his direction. One Firebender opened his window and unleashed a large one at Aang. But the Airbender quickly jumped over it and landed on the cabin. He dodged a fire blast from behind and one from the other side before sending an air wave at him. From above, Katara said, "Even with one of us in one, those things are unstoppable!"

"I think I know how they work." Teo said as he remembered something. Then he thought of something when he said, "I remember my dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. Something to do with water." He smirked as he glanced to Katara, "Works great, huh?"

"Water?" Katara asked, knowing that she could maybe help. Then she asked, "Can you get me close to one?"

"No problem." Teo said and moved closer to Appa. Katara petted the bison's head before hopping onto Teo's glider. They both then descended to the ground.

Aang continued to swat away incoming fire balls as the tanks drew closer. Nat was currently running into another tank nearby while Steve blasted at a few soldiers with his confiscated blaster on some of the soldiers and blocked with his shield. Teo's glider came in low beside Aang and Katara jumped off. Landing front of Aang while he shielded her, Katara assumed her waterbending stance, slowly turned her arms before crouching down and using her breath to create ice that slowly approached an approaching tank. The tank rolled right into the ice before Katara raised her arms. Two bolts flew from the chassis of the tank and all four wheels fell from the tank. They were slightly surprised when a chain suddenly came at them. Aang caught it with his staff and twisted it out of the way. Katara then raised her arms and turned them in a few circles before using her waterbending to lift the tank in the air. It stopped before the ice broke off and the tank crashed down onto the ground. Aang spun his staff while Katara prepared herself. But they were surprised when a multitude of tanks and soldiers still came at them.

Captain America and Natasha looked back to see that the two kids were surrounded. Natasha then swerved her tank towards the kids to help out and Cap was able to hitch a ride by jumping onto the tank. The super soldier opened fire on the soldiers he was able to hit. Aang then jumped in front of Katara and grunted as he swung his staff to knock away any incoming fire blasts. He repeated the action several times before noticing how close the tanks were. Appa then landed in front of both Aang and Katara and used his head to knock the two tanks over with a growl. The tanks tumbled along the ground, but when they stopped the cabins just rotated again and came back. Aang and Katara then ran up Appa's tail to take off. The bison slammed his tail against the ground before taking off. Aang and Katara looked down to see that they were able to take out a few tanks, but the conjoined army was still coming.

Captain America and Nat were still fighting with Natasha driving and Cap shooting. Suddenly, another tank rammed right into them and sent them sliding close to the edge. Looking to the tank he saw the hatch for the grappling hooks and removed it. Looking to the window he shouted, "Get out! I've got an idea.!"

Trusting her friend, Natasha quickly abandoned the controls and climbed out of the tank right as Cap threw his hook onto the other incoming tank. The tank had just rammed into theirs when the grappling hook twisted around the gear-like wheel. Their tank started sliding off the edge and dragged the other with it. Cap jumped off and out of the way of the sliding tanks. He looked back to see Natasha about to make the jump but stumbled as their tank went over the edge. She yelled as she jumped off. Captain America rushed forward and reached his hand out as she flew out of the way of the tanks. The soldiers inside both tanks screamed as they fell off the side of the mountain. The two fell forward as she slightly pulled him off the cliff. The super soldier kept a firm grip on his friend before pulling the spy back up to the cliff. Cap then asked, "You all right?"

"Yeah. Just fine." Nat said while they both took deep breaths. They looked up to see that the army was starting to get closer to the Air Temple. With a motion of his head he said, "Let's get back to the others."

"Mind if I take that for a spin?" Natasha asked about the blaster in his hand. Cap smirked before tossing it to her. She caught it before priming it to be ready. The two Avengers then charged for the army.

Back on the landing platform, Teo then told Aang, "We're out of bombs!"

"Come on, Sokka." Katara pleaded while Momo scurried over. She then hoped for a miracle as she said, "Where's that war balloon?"

Her prayers were answered when she sensed something on her left. Everyone on the landing platform turned to see the war balloon floating past them. Cap and Nat both looked up with smiles at the sight of reinforcements. The war balloon passed over the invading army, but the enemy soldiers didn't do anything to them. This confused both of its passengers. Sokka then asked, "Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?"

"The insignia." The Mechanist said, pointing to the only reason that was keeping them safe, "They think we're on their side."

"Then I guess they won't see this coming." Sokka said with a smirk while taking his knife out. Then cutting the ropes to their bombs, he was able to drop one of the slimy ones on the soldiers and the Mechanist shouted, "Bombs away!"

Some of the soldiers on the ground looked up before screaming at the dropping cargo. The bomb splattered against the ground, soldiers and a few tanks. The soldiers caught in the substance yelled as they were pushed back. Sokka then dropped another bomb on a few other soldiers and they were instantly covered in the goo. Sokka then released the other two bombs and they splattered over the enemy soldiers as well. While they were distracted, Captain America and Natasha came in with a shield toss and a blast from her weapon. They continued to fight off what soldiers they could. The bombs weren't able to stop the tanks, however, as the machines were able to keep going.

"Oh, no," Sokka said as he realized that they were out of ammo, "that was the last one!"

The tanks neared another cliff before firing the grappling hooks up the side. They began the climb up towards the temple. Something whiffed by the Mechanist's nose and he said, "Wait a second." Then sniffing deeply, he then asked Sokka, "You smell that?"

Sokka sniffed too before he recognized it too, "Rotten eggs!"

They passed by a crevice where the smell was coming from and Sokka pointed, "There, that's where the gas is escaping."

An idea began forming in Sokka's mind, one that could get rid of both the gas problem and keep the Fire Nation from touching them. The Mechanist's people tried to use picks to dislodge the hooks from the mountain side. Moving to the engine, Sokka began working on dislodging it as well. The Mechanist, thinking he was crazy, questioned, 'What are you doing? That's our fuel source!"

"It's the only bomb we've got." Sokka said as he looked to him. The Mechanist, now knowing what Sokka was talking about, helped to remove the engine out of position. The two then moved to push it over the side. Aang, able to see what they were doing, quickly jumped onto Appa's head and shouted, "Yip! Yip!"

With a flap of his tail, Appa lifted off the ground. Once they were airborne, Aang steered Appa to where Cap and Natasha were battling it out with the soldiers. Captain America blocked a shot from one soldier while Natasha kicked a jabbing spear from the side before they switched opponents. Cap bashed the shield against the Fire Nation soldier's face while Nat opened fire on the Hydra soldier's face. While their opponents fell down and others started surround them, a wave of snow blinded both Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers alike. Both Avengers looked up when Appa groaned and Aang shouted down to them, "Quick! Hop on!"

Both Captain America and Natasha jumped to grab onto one of Appa's feet. They clung to bison as Aang then steered Appa to ascend. They made it back to the landing platform just as Sokka and the Mechanist pushed the engine out of the basket. The metal hardware clanged as it bounced off the sides of the crevice walls and down into the abyss. While the enemy soldiers continued to advance towards the temple, Aang and everyone watched to see what would happen next. An explosion went off around the bottom of the temple, followed by a series of two more when a massive explosion created a massive blast. Everyone had braced themselves as smoke covered the entire mountaintop.

When the smoke had cleared, it revealed that the temple still stood, though much of the surrounding mountain had been destroyed. But most of the soldiers that had been in the perimeter of the blast had perished in the explosions. The ones started to run back down the mountain as a victorious Aang shouted, "Look! They're retreating!"

Everyone started to cheer for their victory when the balloon passed them. A scared Sokka shouted, "We're going down!"

"No! Sokka, hold on!" Katara shouted, worried for her brother. Aang picked up his staff before opening his glider and taking off after them. Aang quickly gained on the falling war balloon while Sokka had tied a rope to his boomerang. He prepared it while telling the Mechanist, "Get ready!"

He started to spin the boomerang as Aang came closer. When Aang started to circle around the balloon Sokka then threw the line to him. The boomerang was able to tie itself to the bottom of Aang's glider and Aang was able to pull on the rope. The Mechanist hung onto Sokka as they were both pulled out of the basket with a scream. Aang carried them both to safety while the war balloon continued to fall beneath the cloud bank.

x

Later that evening, Aang, Steve, Katara, Natasha and Sokka were gathered with Teo, his father and a few others of their people. They stood at one of the many gates. Aang had a smile as he said, "You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now." Then he picked up a crab and said as an example, "I realize it's like the hermit crab." He stroked the shell, making the little creature come out as he said, "Maybe you weren't born here, but you've found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other."

"That means a lot," Teo said as Aang lowered his hand, "coming from you."

Steve then walked up and said, "I hate to be buzz kill about this, but you remember what we talked about, right, sir."

"I do." The Mechanist said with an eager nod, "Any weapons of Fire Nation or Hydra origins are to be safely taken care of. No one here will use them. I promise you."

"That's a good." Natasha said with a smirk. Sokka then said, "Aang, you were right about air power." He pointed to the sky as he said, "As long as we've got the skies, we'll have the Fire Nation on the run."

Everyone living at the temple cheered to Sokka's inspirational words. However, Teo's father looked away as he thought about the war balloon as it went down. He sincerely hoped that the Fire Nation wouldn't find it.

x

The sun was about to set when Aang and his friends were about to leave. They had just finished packing up and loading the supplies the people of the Temple had given them when Teo and his father pulled up. The Mechanist then said, "Are you sure that you can't stay for the night? We have more than enough room for all of you."

"Thanks." Aang said with a gracious smile, but he declined by saying, "But we need to get back on the road again."

"Yep, it's still a long way to the North Pole." Sokka added as he took a pack from Natasha and placing it in the saddle. Katara then said, "But maybe when we're done up there, we'll come back."

"We'd love that." Teo said with a smile. The Mechanist then said, "We can't thank any of you enough for all you've done for us." He placed a hand on Teo's shoulder as he listed, "You've given us a home and a new purpose in life." He placed his hand to his chest and said, "Especially for me."

Then he offered, "If there is anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask."

"Well," Steve said and then asked, "Maybe if you meet a few people that don't seem like they're from any of the four nations…"

"You could send them our way." Natasha finished. Teo's father nodded and said, "Consider it done. And I'll be more than likely to tell if they're your friends." Then turning to Aang he said, "And Avatar Aang, I will ease up on the renovations to the temple and apply them were they are needed, but also leave enough of its history intact."

"Thank you, sir." Aang said with a humble bow.

When they had all sat in Appa's saddle, Aang gave flick of the reins and said, "Yip! Yip!"

Appa groaned before flapping his tail against the ground and taking off. The five looked back to see that the entire temple's residence had come out to see them off. The group waved goodbye while heading north again.

x

Down at the bottom of the mountain, the Emissary who had come to collect the weapons that Teo's father had promised stood by a few soldiers while two Firebenders used their bending to inflate the balloon. While not getting all of the weapons, the Emissary gave a satisfied yet malicious smile as he said, "This defeat is the gateway to many victories."

As the balloon inflated even more, the combined insignia of both the Fire Nation and Hydra looked ominous as it smoothed out.

x

Later that evening, the Mechanist was hunched over his table as he was working really hard on a new project when a knock came to his door. Without turning away from his project he said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a man with combed back hair, a small moustache and orange tinted glasses walking in. The man then said, "I hate to bother you sir, but it appears that we have visitor. And it looks to be one of the special kind, if you know what I mean."

The Mechanist stood up straight in surprise to this and looked to the man. He then genuinely asked, "Where is this visitor?"

"He's in the main garden." The man said while pointing in the direction with his thumb. He shook his head before saying, "And I've gotta tell ya, the way he dropped out of the sky, woof."

The Mechanist then quickly walked past the man and headed towards the platform.

When he walked out into the garden and said, "Hello! Is anyone there?"

"Why yes, my good sir." A voice said from underneath a tree. The Mechanist squinted his eyes at the person as they then asked, "I was wondering if you had seen some friends of mine."

x

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

x

 **Author's Note:** And with that only three more chapters to Book One. Like I said in the last chapter, there'll be a small trailer to let you know of the upcoming battle and the reveal of the next Avenger to join Team Avenging Avatar. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	18. Chapter 18: The Waterbending Master

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **A/N:** Hope that most of you aren't too disappointed by the reveal. Especially those who were voting for Tony. Maybe you'll get lucky in the next vote.

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 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Aang, Katara, Sokka and Steve had just escaped from Prince Zuko's clutches and they had just gotten over the fact that Aang was the long lost Avatar and now they were going over a plan. Katara then recited, "First you need to master water, then earth, then fire, right?"_

" _That's what the monks told me." Aang said. A smile formed on Katara's face as she then said, "If we got to the North Pole, you can learn Waterbending."_

" _We can learn it together." Aang said in equal excitement._

 _Steve was worried for his friends as he said, "They could be anywhere on your world."_

" _Then we'll find them." Aang promised as he placed a hand on the super soldier's shoulder. Then he said, "We can look for them on the way to the North Pole." Then a smiling Katara said, "Then we're in this together."_

 _On Kyoshi Island, Steve had found one of his friends, the spy of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha Romanoff. They were in the main building of the village when she said, "I landed in the ocean and was brought here by something under the water that brought me to the island."_

 _At the Northern Air Temple after the battle against their enemies, the Mechanist offered, "If there is anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask."_

" _Well," Steve said and then asked, "Maybe if you meet a few people that don't seem like they're from any of the four nations…"_

" _You could send them our way." Natasha finished. Teo's father nodded and said, "Consider it done. And I'll be more than likely to tell if they're your friends."_

" _Why yes, my good sir." A voice said from underneath a tree. The Mechanist squinted his eyes at the person as they then asked, "I was wondering if you had seen some friends of mine."_

\l/

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Prince of Asgard and the Waterbending Master**

It was around noon as an arctic koala otter floated on its back in the ocean waters of the North Pole. But the sound of a groaning bison caused it to dive underneath the waves. Appa flew past icebergs as the group looked for any signs of the Northern Water Tribe. While Aang laid on his back, Steve and Natasha kept an eye out while fiddling with their gear on the sides of the saddle, Katara laid on her belly in the middle of the saddle with a bored expression and Sokka was laying on his belly against the back of the saddle. An irritated Sokka then said, "I'm not one to complain-"

"That's a total lie." Natasha smirked as she was trying her comms. Steve grinned as he added, "A really big lie."

Sokka glanced back with a glare before finishing, "But can't Appa fly any higher?"

Appa only groaned as he slowly descended to the water's surface before gaining a little altitude again. Sokka's comment got to Aang as he twisted around in his spot and shot back, "I have an idea." Pointing to Sokka he then said, "Why don't we all get on _your_ back and _you_ can _fly us_ to the North Pole?"

"What do you think, Sokka?" Steve teased in a light manner, "Think you can get us there?"

"Oh, I'd love to." Sokka sarcastically said before pointing to his back and shook his butt, "Climb on, everyone. Sokka's ready for take-off."

The only one to seem willing was Momo as he chittered in excitement and jumped onto Sokka's back. Sokka looked to the lemur with an annoyed expression. Katara then decided to put an end to it by looking between her brother and the Airbender and said, "Look," Aang and the two Avengers looked to her as she said, "we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight."

"And for what?" Sokka asked after moving Momo into his lap. Then he pointed out to the surrounding ocean, "We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe." He sounded bleak as he said, "There's nothing up here."

"You'd think we'd have seen some land or people by now." Steve said as he looked about the icebergs. Natasha then put in, "Then again, they have been able to keep out of the Fire Nation's clutches for a good while now."

"That's true." Sokka nodded. This caused everyone to look down in dismay. The sound of something splashing loudly drew their attention. Aang looked ahead of them as ice jutted from the water. The Airbender screamed as he pulled the reins to make Appa move right. Sokka, Katara, Steve and Natasha screamed as they hung on to the saddle. Another iceberg formed in front of them and Aang pulled the reins to make Appa move to the left. But this one was able to catch Appa's middle right leg and throw him off balance with a roar. Everyone screamed as Appa spun out of control in the air. Aang hung on tight to the reins as he was flung around while Appa spun. The bison crashed on his side and Aang used his airbending to move back onto Appa's head. When it seemed that the ocean was settling down, ice quickly formed towards the bison and Appa roared as it completely surrounded him.

"This can only mean one thing." Natasha said as Appa was completely stuck in the ice. The team looked out to the icebergs as regal looking canoes propelled by waterbenders coming out from behind the nearby icebergs. Sokka took out his boomerang in case they were attacked. But he lowered his weapon as Katara excitedly said, "They're Waterbenders."

The hole group was surrounded by at least six Northern Tribe boats. One of the men on board the boat then said, "We have awaited your arrival, young Avatar."

\l/

Elsewhere in the Earth Kingdom at a Fire Nation harbor, something big was going down as a big tent on a hill was being guarded by many Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers. Inside the tent, Admiral Zhao was holding a war meeting. They were discussing the subject of the Avatar. The admiral stood before a map with his hands behind his back as he said, "The Avatar and the two Avengers with him are heading north," He turned to his fellow Fire Nation officers, Johan Schmidt and a few Hydra soldiers while saying, "The Northern Water Tribe. The Avatar needs to master waterbending."

"It would make sense." The Red Skull said on the other side of the rug with the combined insignia of Hydra and the Fire Nation. Everyone looked to him as he said, "It is the only place where he truly learn waterbending. Seeing as how you followed my previous instructions."

"And we are grateful to you helping us eliminate that problem." Zhao nodded. He then turned back to the map as he got back on track, "He's looking for a teacher."

"Then what are we waiting for?" A Fire Nation officer closest to the admiral questioned. He a raised a clenched fist as he looked to the others and said, "Let's go get him."

"Patience, Captain." Johann advised. Zhao was in agreement as he said, "He's right, Captain Lee. This isn't some little Earth village we can just march into." Zhao moved around them as he pointed out, "The Water Tribe is a great nation. There's a reason they've survived a hundred years of war. The frozen tundra is treacherous. The landscape itself is an icy fortress."

"And though we have the necessary gear and equipment," Johann put in, "my men back on my world haven't perfected the transfer machine for the war machines. But there should be enough troops."

"Enough troops for what?" Another Fire Nation officer asked. Zhao then revealed, "I plan to assemble a massive invasion force. One that'll not only conquer the Northern Water Tribe, but capture the Avatar and the Avengers."

Admiral Zhao looked to each of them and said, "I urge you to rally what forces can be spared, for we leave for the North Pole in a week's time."

The Fire Nation officers nodded before getting up to leave. When they were gone, only Hydra's leader and the Fire Nation admiral were left in the tent. Johann Schmidt then asked, "You said that you wished to talk to me about the Winter Soldier, correct."

Zhao nodded and said, "I believe that he is spending too much time with Prince Zuko."

\l/

Appa floated across the ocean with the six Water Tribe boats as they made their way to the Northern Tribe. As they passed a few icebergs, Aang saw it, stood up on Appa's head and excitedly said, "There it is!"

The four in the saddle looked at the giant ice wall in amazement. Katara breathlessly said with a smile, "The Northern Water Tribe."

"I've got to say, they really know how to make their defenses." Steve complimented. Sokka couldn't believe his eyes as he said, "We're finally here."

Momo chittered as he looked around Aang at the wall. The group came up to a wall before coming to a stop. The Waterbenders on the canoes moved to the front and clasped their hands together before their arms in a circle and held them high before sliding their left foot, bending their knees and bringing their hands down. It caused a half circle to appear in front of Appa and the ice slid down like a door, allowing passage into the tribe. One of the Waterbenders gestured for the group to go inside. With a flick of the reins from Aang, Appa swam through the tunnel with a slight groan. The group soon found themselves within a waterway with Waterbenders standing on three sides of them; six on the sides and four in front of them. All of the Waterbenders here performed the same motions as the ones on the canoes and water began to flow from the separate channels and into the groups square. As the water continued to rise and Appa stayed afloat, Katara then said, "I can't believe how many Water benders live up here."

"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem." Aang said, thinking that the element of water was in the bag.

The wall where the four Waterbenders were standing started to lower as the water reached a certain level. As they neared the water, platforms kept the Waterbenders from sinking as two new Northern Water Tribe boats waited for them. As Appa followed after the two boats, they passed by a few men that rode on arctic animals that had curved horns on their heads. They all looked in wonder to how majestic everything in the Northern Water Tribe looked. Up head was another gate way point before a third gate way point and then the main city. Once they had passed through, they followed one of the boats to the right while bystanders watched them from above on rooftops. As they passed down water canals, the people of the Northern Tribe started to cheer at the passing heroes. While Katara, Sokka, Steve and Natasha looked about with smiles, Aang waved his hand to anyone who could see.

As they continued following the boat, another yet more regal looking boat passed by on the same canal. Sokka glanced down at the young woman who was sitting at the front of the boat with her hands in her sleeves. Her hair was tied in an interesting way. Sokka thought she was very beautiful as he smiled while his cheeks blushed as he thought he was falling in love. Natasha happened to glance back to him and saw the look on his face. She was about to say something when he got out of the saddle and slid down Appa's tail. He stopped at the edge while Katara said, "This place is beautiful."

"Yeah, she is." Sokka said with a love struck look while Katara looked back to her brother.

\l/

On the Admiral's personal ship as it was sailing to a certain point, both Admiral Zhao and the Red Skull stood on the deck of the ship. Johann Schmidt let out a deep sigh before asking, "And you are sure that the Winter Soldier helped in the Avatar and the Captain's escape from the fortress."

"Unless you know of someone else of Hydra who has a weapon like the one I described to you." Zhao said. Johann then said, "Then I will go with you to order the Winter Soldier to go on your expedition to the North Pole, taking at least some of the Prince's support away from him."

"And with my power, I will make it to where he can't hunt for the Avatar anymore either." Zhao put in. Johann didn't say anything more about it as their ship continued on its way. It wasn't long until they spotted Prince Zuko's ship docked at a peer.

\\_l_/

A crescent moon floated over Prince Zuko's ship as the strum of a guitar filled the air. The Lieutenant strummed a soft melody over a few times. Two members of the crew played drums while two others danced to the rhythm and Iroh started to sing…

 **Iroh:** _Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall_

The two crewman danced around the fire while the other three played their instruments and Iroh kept singing…

 **Iroh:** _Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall_

 _Four seasons_

The Winter Soldier moved to where he stood at the entrance into ship's interior and watched the six of them have a merry time. A small smile formed on the super soldier's face as the two dancing spun before separating and then coming back together in their dance. Iroh had a smile as he continued to singing…

 **Iroh:** _Four loves_

 _Four seasons_

 _Four love_

Unbeknownst to all of them, four figures walked onto the ship. The Winter Soldier saw them and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. Two Firebender soldiers, Johann Schmidt and Admiral Zhao walked to the merry men. The admiral had a smile on his face while Johann looked back to see Hydra's assassin standing there. The leader of Hydra beckoned him to come forward. The Lieutenant caused a note to twang when the six looked back to see that they had company. Zhao then got right to the point, "I'm organizing a little trip to the North Pole and I need recruits."

"And you thought you'd find them here?" The Lieutenant questioned. Zhao's smirk didn't falter as he said, "Given the fact that I command much more than Zuko at the moment, I'd say that you don't have much of a choice."

Everyone looked to each other as they knew that the admiral had a point. Johann looked back to the Winter Soldier and said, "And I have volunteered you to go along with the Admiral."

"What about Prince Zuko?" The assassin questioned. Johann had expected a question such as this and said, "Your mission is to capture Captain Rogers, his friends and the Avatar. They are up at the North Pole, and we need you for the upcoming battle."

He fully turned to the Winter Soldier and said, "This is an order and to deny it would be treason."

The Winter Soldier hung his head as he knew that he couldn't disobey an order from Hydra's leader. He looked the Red Skull in eye and said, "Yes, sir."

"Good." Johann nodded. He then ordered, "Hurry up and grab your things."

The Winter Soldier nodded and walked off. Iroh looked glum to losing a friend such as the Winter Soldier, but there was hardly anything he could do. Zhao cleared his throat to draw his attention and then said, "I'll be taking the entire crew with me as well."

"Everyone?" Iroh asked. Zhao nodded and said, "Everyone."

\\_l_/

Back at the North Pole, night had come over the Northern Water Tribe as well. But it was a night of celebration as the entire tribe was gathered. After meeting with the chief of the Northern Tribe, the chief held a feast in honor of their arrival. Six men banged on large animal skin drums while the rest of the tribe sat at tables in front of the palace. The Chief of the Northern Tribe, Chief Arnook, sat in the middle with his family on his right and the group on his left. In the middle of the courtyard sat a large pool of water. While everyone waited patiently, four tribesman moved a giant platter of veggies in front of Appa. The bison let loose a growl and it sent the men running off with a shriek. Sokka gave a slight smile while Appa started to eat.

Four other tribesman walked a giant crab over to the pool of water and lowered it into the boiling water. The water hissed and steam billowed from the water. Chief Arnook stood up and proposed a toast by saying, "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe."

Sokka and Katara looked out to the rest of their sister tribe with smiles and a wave. The chief then said, "And they have brought with them some very special people-"

Gesturing to both Steve and Natasha he said, "The heroes who have come from another world, Captain America and Natasha Romanoff, the Avengers." Then looking down to Aang he said with clasped hands, "And someone who many of us believed disappeared from the world until now-" Gesturing to the Airbender he said, "the Avatar."

While holding Momo in one arm, Aang raised his free hand in order to wave to the people. Everyone started to cheer and applaud to the Avatar. Chief Arnook then said, "We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday."

He moved out of the way as his daughter and two other women came walking up to the table. The tribe once again applauded to the news. The chief finished by saying, "Princess Yue is now of marrying age."

Sokka glanced around his sister and friends to catch a glimpse of the princess. Princess Yue looked to the chief and said, "Thank you, father." Then turning back to the tribe and their guests she said, "May the great ocean and moon spirits watch over us during these troubled times."

Chief Arnook then looked to three people standing before a fountain on the far side of the courtyard and gestured as he said, "Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform."

The drums started to play again as the three Waterbenders readied themselves. Master Pakku and both his students raised their arms before bringing their left arm close and sweeping their right hands in a downward arch. They then switched the places of their hands and three large streams of water came flying out of three big earns in front of them. The two outer streams moved around the central in a winding fashion before all three moved back and became giant spheres of water. The crowd applauded at the performance. Even Aang and Katara were really excited as they applauded. Master Pakku then moved his hands behind him as he moved the stream diagonally down and bringing it back up. His students mirrored his movements as they all moved the streams of water around them. They brought their streams of water together to create one giant stream and bent it around all three. Then they moved around each of them.

As the master and his students continued to perform, everyone else was enjoying themselves. Sokka in particular, was stuffing his face with food as a certain princess walked up behind him and sat down on his left. As she sat, he quickly chewed and swallowed what he had before turning to Princess Yue and said, "Hi, there." Then he introduced himself, "Sokka, Southern Water Tribe."

"Very nice to meet you." Princess Yue said with a bow. The two became lost in what to say to each other as they looked about. Sokka then said, "So, uh," Yue looked to him as he said with a smile, "you're a princess, huh?"

She nodded and he leaned against the table while saying, "You know, back in my tribe, I'm like a prince myself."

Katara gave a scoff/laugh before asking, "Prince of what?"

"Even I can tell that this is not gonna be your night." Natasha said from the other side of the Waterbender. Katara continued eating as Sokka then said, "One: A lot of things. And two: Do you two mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here."

"My apologies, Prince Sokka." Katara said with a bow and Natasha chuckled to this. While Katara and Nat looked back to the performance Sokka turned back before noticing that he still had Yue's attention. Then he said, "It looks like I'm going to be in town for a while." Then he asked her out by saying, "I was thinking that maybe we could do an activity together?"

"Do an activity?" Yue asked. Now nervous, Sokka straightened up, confusing the princess, and then started to stuff the rest of his food into his mouth. He swallowed before covering his mouth while coughing. He glanced to her with a slight look when Katara leaned to him and said, "Very smooth."

"And where was that aloofness back from Aunt Wu's village?" Natasha asked. Sokka looked to them with a slight glare.

When they were done performing, Chief Arnook led Aang over to Pakku and said to the Master, "Master Pakku, meet your newest student, the Avatar."

Aang gave a respectful bow to the man, but Pakku placed his hands in his sleeves and responded by saying, "Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment."

Though a little thrown off by Pakku's words as he looked down, Aang looked the waterbending master in the eye and excitedly said, "My friend and I can't wait to start training with you, after we relax for a couple of days."

"If you want to relax," Master Pakku said otherwise, "then I suggest visiting a tropical island." Then he put in, "If not, I'll see you both at sunrise. Good night."

The waterbending master was about to turn and walk away when the sound of approaching thunder drew everyone's attention. Chief Arnook looked to Pakku and said, "I thought there wasn't going to be any storms?"

"There's not supposed to be." Pakku said as he glanced up to the sky.

Steve, Natasha and the kids looked up as well noticing the growing thunder. A Water Tribesman ran up to them and said, "Sir, we have incoming!"

"Is it the Fire Nation?" Chief Arnook asked. The man shook his head and said, "No, sir. But it is coming in fast."

The group, Chief Arnook, Princess Yue and Master Pakku all ran from the feast and out on to the main stairwell to the palace. They could see large dark clouds gathering on the outskirts of the city. They all saw something coming in from the storm clouds and was going to land on the outskirts of the city. Sokka then questioned, "What is that thing?"

"I'm not sure, but let's check it out." Steve said and ran down the stairs. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Natasha all looked to each other before following after the super soldier. Chief Arnook looked to the princess and said, "Stay here, Yue."

"Yes, father." Princess Yue said with a bow. Then he and Master Pakku followed after the five when the object crashed down. Its impact created a huge cloud obscuring anyone from being able to see.

When they all reached the crash site, they looked down into the crater right as a figure stood up. Steve and Sokka removed their respective weapons, Aang, Master Pakku and Katara readied their bending stances while Natasha stood in front of the chief to protect him. But the chief stepped around her and motioned that he could take care of himself. This surprised Natasha before Chief Arnook turned back to the figure in the crater and demanded, "Who or whatever you are, state your business."

"I have come looking for some friends of mine." A voice from the figure said with an odd accent. While the majority of the group didn't recognize the voice, Steve and Natasha did as the former asked, "Thor?"

The cloud settled and revealed a tall blonde man wearing fancy sleeveless armor, a red cape on his shoulders and hammer in his right hand. The kids then remembered Steve and Natasha's descriptions of Thor and Sokka asked, "So this that friend of yours from the realm of-" He paused when he couldn't think of the name, "Uh, what was it called again."

"Asgard?" Thor said as he walked out of the crater. He stood before the group and said, "I am Thor, son of Odin. And I like I said, I have come to find my friends."

A smile grew on the Asgardian's face as he walked up to Steve and Natasha with wide arms and said, "It is good to see you again after such a long time."

The three friends embraced before Thor gripped both friend's by the shoulders and said, "You must tell me all that has happened since our arrival."

"And we will." Steve promised. Natasha then said, "But first, allow us to introduce you to three new friends of ours." Looking to the kids Nat said, "Meet Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

Katara and Sokka both smiled and waved to Thor. Steve then turned his attention to the Airbender and said, "And the boy with the tattoos is Aang, the Avatar."

"Ah, yes." Thor said, "As I wondered the land, I heard a few tales of a boy with tattoos and his friends fighting against the, uh," He paused a moment before saying, "the Fire Nation."

"Yeah, that's us." Katara said with a nervous smile. Thor then said, "We must regale our stories."

"Well, you can do that on the way back to the palace." Master Pakku said before turning back to the city. Chief Arnook looked to the group and shrugged his shoulders. They then followed after the grumpy old man.

\\_l_/

Back on Prince Zuko's ship, the aforementioned prince stood alone in the dark of his room. Prince Zuko wore his training tunic as he scowled while leaning against the wall. The door opened, and knowing that it was his uncle Zuko remained firm about something as he said, "For the last time, I'm not playing the Sunghi horn."

"Uh, no." Iroh said to alleviate his nephew's worries. Then he decided not to beat around the bush and said, "It's about our plans. There's going to a bit of a problem."

He stepped out of the way as Admiral Zhao, Johann Schmidt and the Winter Soldier walked in. The Admiral then turned to the prince and stated, "I'm taking your crew."

"What?!" A shocked Prince Zuko shouted. He moved from the wall as Zhao met him halfway and said, "I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole." He then added, "And I've also recruited the Winter Soldier as well."

Prince Zuko looked to the super soldier, but the assassin looked away. Prince Zuko looked to Iroh and asked, "Uncle, is it all true?"

"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone," Iroh said with a grim frown. He lifted a sleeve to his eyes as he started to cry, "even the cook."

"Sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar and the Avengers," Admiral Zhao said with false sincerity. Then he added, "But I can't have you getting in my way again."

With a growl, Prince Zuko tried to rush at the man, but both Iroh and the Winter Soldier stopped him and his uncle shouted, "No!"

Admiral Zhao then took a look around the Prince's room and his gaze fell on the wall opposite of the door. Hanging on the wall was two familiar broadswords and the sheath to carry them underneath them. Zhao's eyes widened as he looked to the way they were arranged and his mind flashed back to when the Avatar and Captain America had escaped. His eyes trembled as he remembered what went down that night.

\\_|_/

(Flashback)

 _The Blue Spirit sliced through spear heads and knocked soldiers away._

 _After Aang had protected the five from a huge fire ball, the Blue Spirit placed the blades against the Avatar's throat._

 _A stare down between the Admiral and the Blue Spirit was heated as Zhao looked into the spirit's eyes._

(End of Flashback)

\\_|_/

Admiral Zhao's eyes continued to tremble as he reached for one of the blades. Zuko and the Winter Soldier's eyes grew wide as he removed the blade. As he maneuvered the blade around, Zhao said, "I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko."

"I'm not." Prince Zuko said as he looked off the side. He lied by saying, "They're antiques, just decorative."

"A nice set." Johann Schmidt complimented as he looked at the other blade. Zhao then asked the former general, "Have you heard of the Blue and Red Spirits, General Iroh?"

"Just rumors." The former general put off. Then he added, "I don't think that they are real."

"Oh, they're real all right." Zhao said as he walked to them with the blade in both hands. Then he sounded angry as added, "They're criminals and an enemy of the Fire Nation and Hydra." He twisted the sword to where the blade pointed to the ground and handed it to Iroh. And as the man took it, Zhao then moved to the door and said, "I have a feeling justice will catch up with him soon."

The Red Skull and the Winter Soldier walked out of the room with the latter casting one last glance to the two before going on. Admiral Zhao stopped at the door and said, "General Iroh, the offer to join my mission still stands if you change your mind."

The Admiral closed the door behind him as he and his associates departed.

\\_|_/

Later that night, as the six friends made their way to the quarter's provided for them, Thor laughed. They had just finished telling him their tales together and he said, "Your adventures of you bringing hope back to a war ridden world is inspiring."

"And where did you end up?" Steve asked, wanting to know. Thor then said, "I ended up in a small town at the coast. They were a little confused and wary of me, but when I defended them from the combined forces of our enemies, they were more than happy to help me before I left to find you." Then he said, "Anyway, before coming up this way, I happened to come across a magnificent temple in the mountains and it looked as if a large portion of rock had been blown away-"

"The Northern Air Temple?" Aang asked. Thor nodded and Steve said, "We were just there a few days ago."

"Well, I must have been right behind you," Thor continued his tale, "for once I reached the temple, a bald man with barely any eyebrows told me that the Avatar, two Water Tribe children and two odd strangers were heading for the top of the world. And so I must have assumed that those 'odd' strangers must have been you."

"And I don't suppose that you've heard anything about your other friends did you." Katara asked. They came across the housing block and turned to walk to their place. Thor shook his head, "Unfortunately, I did not. But as my father once told me, to never give up on those closest to you."

"Your father sounds really wise." The Airbender said to the Asgardian with a smile. Thor smiled in appreciation and said, "And it is nice to meet the living Avatar."

"Nice to meet you too, Aang." Thor returned. Then he said with sincerity, "And I do apologize for your loss."

Aang didn't say anything but did appreciate his words. They soon went into their quarters for a good night's sleep.

\\_|_/

The next morning before they left for training before sunrise, Katara put her coat back on and asked the others, "What are you guys going to do today?"

"Well, I was going to see if I can go and find Princess Yue." Sokka said with a confident smile. He then noticed that were looking at him funny. Sokka shrugged and said, "What? I think I have a real shot with her."

"Then maybe I shall go with you." Thor suggested. Then he added, "And be your, uh…" He looked to Steve and Natasha to ask, "What do you call it, a wing-something?"

"A wing man?" Natasha suggested with her arms crossed. Thor snapped his fingers as he said with a smile, "Yes. Thank you."

"So, Thor and Sokka have their day covered. And I guess one of us could go and oversee Aang and Katara's waterbending training." Steve said. Natasha then said, "I guess that if one of us does that, the other could go and check on the defenses of the Northern Tribe."

"Why would we need to do that?" Aang questioned. He sounded a little confused as he said, "Wouldn't the Northern Tribe be already doing that?"

"A good point." Thor shrugged. Then he said, "Why don't the both of you just go to watch the training."

"I guess that could work." Steve shrugged. Aang nodded and said, "Great! But we might want to hurry! It's almost sunrise!"

"Ack! We can't be late!" Katara shouted and the four rushed out of the room. When they were gone, Sokka looked to Thor and said, "Well, let's go into town and find us a princess."

"Lead the way, Prince Sokka of the Southern Tribe." Thor said with a gesture of his hand. Sokka's face fell and he said, "Katara and Natasha told you about that, huh?"

Thor nodded and resulted in a groan from the Water Tribe teen as they walked out.

\\_|_/

Aang, Katara, Steve and Natasha made their way to the stairs to where they were supposed to meet Master Pakku for the kid's training. Katara looked to all three of them and said, "I've been waiting for this day my whole life, you guys." She was really excited as she said, "I'm finally get to learn from a real waterbending master."

"Just remember that it won't be easy, Katara." Natasha said with a smirk. Katara nodded in understanding and then said, "I know, but I'm just so excited."

Aang, Steve and Natasha were really happy for their friend as they climbed up the stairs. When they made it to the top, Master Pakku currently had a bubble of water and went through the motions as he changed its shape. The water between his hands rippled as he continued to concentrate. But that concentration was broken when Aang shouted from behind, "Good morning, Master Pakku!"

This caused his eyes to widen while dropping the water to the ground. Then with sarcasm in his voice he said, "No, please, march right in." He lowered his arms as he said, "I'm not concentrating or anything."

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Nat muttered. Steve shushed her while Aang felt a little bad and said, "Uh, sorry." Then gesturing to his fellow Waterbender he said, "This is my friend, Katara."

Katara bowed in respect as he said with a smile, "The one I was telling you about."

All four of them had smiles on their faces while Master Pakku's was the exact opposite. He glanced to Katara before saying, "I'm sorry." Then with a circular wave his arm he bent a mound of snow to become a seat and sat down while saying, "I think there's been a misunderstanding."

The friend's faces fell as he said, "You didn't tell me your friend was a girl." He sounded very strict when he said, "In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending."

Katara's eyes trembled as she became angry with this news. Taking a step forward she angrily questioned, "What do you mean you won't teach me?" Two of her friends were about to stop her when she marched up to him and questioned, "I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me no!"

"No." Master Pakku said, not budging. Natasha then said, "I'm confused about something…"

"Of course you'd be." Pakku rudely said. The spy glared at him before saying, "It doesn't make any sense as to why Katara can't learn waterbending."

"Because I just said no. Weren't you listening?" Master Pakku questioned with an arched brow. Steve then stepped in, "Sir, I've seen Katara's progress as a Bender and she's come really far."

"And there must be other female waterbenders in your tribe." Katara said while placing her hands on her hips. Master Pakku nodded and then said, "Here, the women learn from Yagoda to their waterbending to heal." He smiled when he said, "I'm sure she would be happy to make you as her student," the smile fell as he added, "despite your bad attitude."

"I don't want to heal." Katara argued. She remained firm as she stated, "I want to fight!"

"I can see that," Master Pakku said, not changing his mind, "but our tribe as customs, rules."

"And what if those customs and rules are met with something that is unforeseen?" Natasha questioned. Master Pakku arched a brow while he questioned, "What are you getting at?"

"What if the tribe is under attack and all the," The spy used air quotes when she said, "'men' Waterbenders, were outnumbered, what would you do then?"

"They would fight til the last man standing." Master Pakku told her, "And this one," Pointing to Katara, "and the other female Waterbenders will not be learning from me or any of the other Waterbenders that were trained by me. _That_ is final."

" _That's_ sexism and you know it." Natasha said, now feeling that there was a little more to this. Pakku narrowed his eyes to that. Katara then added, "And your rules stink."

"Yeah!" Aang jumped in to say, "They're not fair." Then he threatened, "If you won't teach Katara, then…"

"Then what?" Master Pakku said as he stood from his seat. Aang then decided, "Then I won't learn from you."

The Airbender then turned and walked away. Steve, Katara and Natasha were all worried by his statement while it didn't matter to Master Pakku, "Well, have fun teaching yourself. I'm sure you'll do a great job.

"Wait!" Katara shouted after her friend. She looked to the Waterbending Master and said, "Aang didn't mean that."

"Sure sounded like he did." Nat quietly muttered. Steve looked to her and she then shrugged her shoulders. Katara ran after the still leaving Aang and placed a hand on his shoulder before saying, "You can't risk your training for me." She knew what was best as she stated, "You have to learn from Master Pakku," They both turned to the old Waterbender with a glare as she did begrudgingly say, "even if he is a big jerk."

She looked to him as he nodded in agreement. Steve and Natasha walked back to them and the latter said, "I'll head off with Katara to Yagoda's place." She leaned forward and said, "But I'll do a little reconnaissance work as well. See what I can find."

"What do you mean, Natasha?" Aang asked. Nat then said, "I have a feeling that there's more to this sexist jerk than meets the eye. And I'm gonna find it."

"Then I'll stay here with Aang to make sure everything goes alright." Steve offered. Aang nodded and said, "Thanks, Steve."

Katara and Natasha then walked back down the stairs while the boys turned back to Master Pakku. Happy of having his way, Master Pakku then said, 'Why don't we get started, then?"

Bending the water from a waterfall behind him, Master Pakku then twisted before sending it to both boys. Or more to Aang as he grunted when the water barreled into him.

\\_|_/

Sokka and Thor were walking along a bridge looking for Princess Yue. As they looked over the sides, Thor then asked, "Perhaps I should have asked this roughly twenty minutes ago, but what exactly does the princess look like? I only saw Chief Arnook last night."

"Well, mostly fancy clothing like royalty would wear." Sokka obviously stated. Thor nodded as he knew that much. Sokka then pointed out, "But unlike everyone else in the tribe, she has beautiful white hair."

This seemed to confuse Thor as he asked, "So she is elderly?"

Sokka sharply turned his head to the Asgardian and said, "No! She is not old! She's a teenage girl with hair." He shook his head and questioned, "Why and how would an old lady still be a princess?"

"There are many wonders in the universe, Sokka." Thor said as they continued searching. Sokka looked over the side of the bridge and saw a familiar boat and a familiar face. He ran to the stairwell while shouting, "Princess Yue, good morning!"

Thor waited on the bridge while Sokka made it to ground level to catch up with the boat. Yue looked to a panting Sokka as he asked, "Hey, how about that picnic last night?" He swiped his brow as he walked next to the boat, "Boy your dad sure knows how to throw a party."

"I'm happy you enjoyed yourself." Princess Yue said with a smile. Sokka then said, "Well, it wasn't as much fun after we had to leave. Plus, that wasn't as much fun without you."

Princess Yue looked away with a blush, clearly touched by his words. Sokka then too blushed before he asked, "I'm still hoping we can see more of each other."

"Do an activity, you mean?" Princess Yue asked. Feeling that she was interested, Sokka became a little tongue tied as he said, "Yes, at a place… for some time."

"I'd love to." Yue said with a smile. From where he stood, even Thor could see the smile on Sokka's face and smiled for him. He looked ahead of the teen, gasped and quickly sprang into action. The princess then told Sokka and pointed, "I'll meet you on that bridge tonight."

"Great!" Sokka said, knowing that they had a date. Thor landed and quickly ran up to him while Sokka then said, "I'll see you…"

"Sokka!" Thor shouted while the teen screams as he fell off the side of the street. Thor ran to the edge and lent a hand for his friend. Sokka was quick to grab it and Thor effortlessly pulled him out. Princess Yue giggled before offering a, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Sokka said as Thor set him down on the street. But Sokka fell on his back and stared into the sky as he said, "It was worth it." Feeling truly content, the Southern Water teen said, "See you tonight."

\\_|_/

Back at Zhao's base of operations, while the Red Skull was working with the other Fire Nation officers going over what they needed for invasion, Zhao on the other hand was tying up a loose end. The admiral was currently sitting in his tent as he listened to a specific group list their talents they could lend for the mission. He smiled as he was leaning forward when he said, "I'm very impressed." The admiral leans back as he continues, "You all seem highly qualified for the mission I have in mind."

A set of hands reached for a small box in front of the admiral and pulls it back to them. The owner of the hands were revealed to be the pirate captain that once teamed up with Prince Zuko. His reptile bird squawked crew looked over their captain's shoulder as he opened the box. One of the pirates reaches into the box and takes out a piece of gold. He bites down on it, and then happily said, "Mm, that's some tasty gold."

The captain grabbed the piece from him and placed it back in the box, confusing the pirate. Closing the box, the captain turned his attention back to Zhao and asked, "What do you need us to do?"

"I believe you're acquainted with Prince Zuko." Zhao said before he smirked as he had someone to do his dirty work.

\\_|_/

The Winter Soldier was walking by the admiral's tent when he saw a few familiar faces walk out of the tent. Hiding behind the fabric, he watched as the pirates walked down the hill. He could hear the captain say, "Let's get this done quickly. You heard how he said it, he wants us to take that brat prince out quickly and quietly."

The Winter Soldier's eyes widened to this kind of betrayal. He knew that Zhao didn't like Zuko and vice versa, but what Zhao was doing would be treason. Even if Zuko was banished, Zhao would be killing a Fire Nation citizen. He would have done something, but a voice said, "Do not concern yourself, soldier."

The Winter Soldier looked back to see the Red Skull behind him. Johann Schmidt walked past him as he said, "Whatever is between the Admiral and the Prince is strictly between them." Glancing back he said, "No point in getting involved."

With a glare, the Winter Soldier looked down. Then a thought came to mind; that even though he wouldn't do something now, then he would later.

\\_|_/

Before they found the healer's hut, Natasha and Katara stopped nearby. Natasha then said, "Okay, for now, humor that geezer by going to Yagoda's while I go…"

"Do what you do best." Katara finished with a genuine smile. Nat wrapped an arm around her and said, "You know me so well, kid."

Natasha then walked the other way, leaving Katara alone. The young Waterbender then walked up to where someone had told her where she could find Yagoda's class. The building stood close to the wall and was a little bit taller than the other domed buildings that were identical. She walked up a small flight of stairs and into a room where a woman was using her bending to maneuver her healing abilities on a mannequin that had points where the chi flowed. She moves the water up the mannequin's arm, from the shoulder and down the middle of the chest before making the entire mannequin's body glow. When she finished Katara then said, "Uh, hi. Are you Yagoda?"

"Are you here for the healing lesson?" The woman asked as she calmed her breath and relaxed her bending. Katara took a quick glance to the other five students and saw that most of them were young Waterbenders. They all smiled at her, but Katara was still bummed out as she said, "I guess I am."

"Welcome. Welcome." Master Yagoda greeted and Katara walked in to find a place to sit. Katara sat down on Yagoda's right and listened to the lesson.

\\_|_/

Elsewhere, water rippled as Aang bent the water back and forth as he tried to get the hang of Master Pakku's lesson. Steve looked bored as he watched from the sidelines. Master Pakku was using his own bending to stir a small cup of food while criticizing the Avatar, "You're moving the water around, but you're but you're not feeling the push and pull."

"I'm trying." Aang said with gritted teeth and tried to hold it. Pakku brought the steaming cup into his mouth and slurped noodles and a tentacle into his mouth. When the entire thing disappeared, Pakku turned to the Avatar with an, "Ah…" Then he criticized, "Maybe that move is too advanced for you.

"Why don't you try an easier one?" Pakku suggested, though belittling Aang. Aang had the blob of water above his head while Pakku had said that, but then threw it down to the ground and turned with growl of frustration. Steve then said, "If I may suggest…"

"I'd rather wish you wouldn't." Master Pakku said with deadpanned look to the super soldier. Steve looked really irritated before he said, "But you only told Aang about the exercise, you didn't explain anything about what it's supposed to do to teach him to feel the push and pull of the water."

"It's just not the way I teach." Master Pakku put off and looked away. Steve sighed as he knew that there was no reasoning with this man.

\\_|_/

Natasha walked through a street of the Northern Tribe, looking for a place where she could get some information. She came by an old looking man that looked nearly as old as Pakku, maybe even older. The man had a small mustache over his lips and was wearing orange tinted glasses. Nat walked up to him and said, "Excuse me, sir, can I talk to you?"

The man looked up to her and said, "Hubba, Hubba. I think I'm in heaven."

"Uh… No." Natasha said as she thought that it was a little creepy. Then she said, "I'm looking for someone who could answer my questions about waterbending Master Pakku."

"Oh, him." The old man said with a wave of his hand. Natasha noticed how he sounded a little ticked off with Pakku. Then she asked, "Do you know him?"

"Eh, enough to where we weren't best friends, but good friends." The man said with a slight nod. Natasha then asked, "I just want to know something. What set him off about…"

"Darling, you want to know why my old buddy Pakku won't train Waterbender girls waterbending." The old man said. Completely shocked about it she then said, "How do you know that was what I was gonna say?"

"Please. I've been waiting for someone younger to come talk to me about Pakku's crazy sexist mind." The old man said and then gestured for her to follow, "Come on. I'm gonna need to sit down if I'm gonna do some story telling."

Though still slightly creeped out by the old man, but still wanting to help Katara, Natasha followed him into one of the buildings constructed out of ice.

\\_|_/

Back at Katara's lesson, the girl's carried the mannequin out of the room while Katara stayed behind. When they were gone, she turned to Yagoda and was at least a little grateful when she said, "Thanks for the lesson."

"Anytime." Yagoda nodded. Then she noticed something and asked, "So who's the lucky boy?"

"Huh?" Katara said as she became confused. Yagoda pointed to Katara's mother's necklace as she said, "Your betrothal necklace."

Katara looked down at it as the woman asked, "You're getting married, right?"

Sensing some kind of necklace, Katara then explained with a small laugh, "Oh, no. I don't think I'm ready for that yet." The young Waterbender had some love in her voice as she explained the history of the object, "My grandmother gave my mother this necklace. And my mother passed it down to me."

Yagoda took a closer look at the necklace and something came to her memory, "I recognize this carving." A smile spread on her face as she said, "I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner." She came closer, startling Katara as she said, "You're the spitting image of Kanna."

"Wait." Katara said as she backed up a few feet. Then she asked, "How do you know my Gran Gran's name?"

"When I was about your age," Yagoda explained, "I was really good friends with Kanna. She was born here in the Northern Tribe."

"She never told me." Katara said while looking away, wondering how much of her grandmother she didn't truly know. Yagoda then said, "Your grandmother had an arranged marriage with a young Waterbender." Katara looked to her when she said that and continued listening, "He had carved that necklace for her."

"If Gran-Gran was engaged, why did she leave?" Katara asked, really confused. Yagoda shook her head as she honestly said, "I don't know. That's always been a mystery to me." Yagoda was said as she remembered, "She left without saying good-bye."

\\_|_/

Back at the old man's home, Natasha sat on the floor and listened to the old man while he sat in a chair made of fur. And it didn't even look like a chair, just a big wad of fur placed in the middle of the living room. The man then said, "And even though I can't remember the chick's name, Pakku had become somewhat bitter to the world around him."

"All because he couldn't marry the woman he loved?" Natasha asked. The old man nodded and said, "I know that sounds sad, but he only acts this way of how the pain from the loss of the one he loved."

Nat's thoughts on the old man changed a little. Standing up she said, "I thank you for this, sir."

"No problem." The man said with a slight smile. Natasha then quickly gave the man a small kiss on the cheek. He blushed to this and she backed up before he said, "I should have warned you about Mitzie."

"Mitzie?" Natasha asked as she was confused. The chair the old man was sitting on turned out to be some kind of a mix between a polar bear and a dog as it got up, making the old man fall to the floor and growled at Natasha. Natasha screamed as she backed away from it.

\\_|_/

Back at Prince Zuko's ship later that night, the men who had been drafted for Admiral Zhao's plan had just stepped off the ramp. They looked back as Iroh shouted from the deck, "Good luck!"

They bowed in respect before walking off.

Iroh walked all the way to Zuko's room and opened the door. The Prince was laying on his cot, staring up at the ceiling as he was angry at the loss of his crew. Sticking his head inside he said, "The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels."

"Good riddance to those traitors." Prince Zuko dismissed without getting up. Iroh then tried to lighten Zuko's mood by saying, "It's a lovely night for a walk. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head."

He waited for a response from the upset prince. His smile fell before saying, "Or you could just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy."

Iroh shut the door behind him and walked down the hall. He started to hum the tune from the previous night as he walked.

Back in his room, Prince Zuko's face fell as he really began to think about all he's losing because of Zhao; his crew, his ally in the Winter Soldier and the opportunity to capture the Avatar and regain his honor. But then he thought of the Winter Soldier and wondered how his friend was doing.

\\_|_/

Iroh continued humming as he walked down the ramp off the ship. He had a happy smile as he walked off the dock and down the road. But as he walked, the reptile bird flew past him and up to the ship. The ship was quiet as three of the pirates ran onto the deck of the metal vessel and ran to the other side. Looking down, two other pirates came rowing up to the ship with two barrels in the dinghy. One of the pirates looked about to see if anyone was nearby before lowering a rope with a hook on one end down to the dinghy. The two pirates in the boat hooked the barrels before sending them back up. Two of the pirates were able to bring their barrel up with ease while the third struggled as he was pulling by himself. The brought the barrels on board, but the third barrel struggled with his and nearly let it fall off the side, "Whoa!"

One of the other two ran back up and warned with a whisper, "Careful with the blasting jelly."

The three pirates carried the barrels to the door and one of the pirates places his hands on the door's catch. He slightly turns but it causes a small squeak that causes the pirate to cringe, "Ooh!"

Prince Zuko heard the squeak from his room and found it odd. He knew that his uncle's scenic route would have taken a little while. Quickly getting up he calls out, "Uncle?"

Opening the door, he stuck his head out and said, "Uncle is that you?"

When he didn't get an answer, he found it to be very strange. With a dash he assumed his Firebender's stance and cautiously walked down the hall. He jumped around the corner, ready for anything, but didn't see anyone or anything. Relaxing his guard, Prince Zuko walked down the hall to see if his uncle had come back early or something.

Out on the ship's deck, the pirates had placed the barrels where they needed to be and created a trail of black powder from the deck. One of the pirates kneeled down and lit a match. The holding the match near the beginning of the trail, they waited until the black powder lit up and quickly moved along the trail. With that done, all three pirates high tailed it off the ship to get away from what was about to happen next. The spark quickly traveled down the powder trail to its destination.

Up on the observation deck, Prince Zuko walked in to see if there was someone with him on board. The spark had nearly reached the barrels of blasting jelly. But when he passed by a window while rubbing the back of his head, a screech startled him. Assuming his stance again, he turned to the source of the noise and saw a reptile bird staring at him through the window. Knowing that it looked familiar to him, he and the bird looked into each other's eyes before he recognized it as the pirate captain's bird. The bird took flight and that's when Zuko realized something was up. The flames touched the barrels and resulted in a loud bang. Zuko screamed as the entire ship started to implode. The explosions quickly went up each floor until they made it to the observation deck. Prince Zuko gave one last scream as he tried to use his firebending to shield himself from the blast. Multiple explosions rang through the ship before the entire thing exploded.

Even from where he was, Iroh looked back and saw smoke coming from the ship. Becoming really scared he shouted, "Zuko!"

Iroh quickly ran back to the ship. The ship continued to burn as Iroh came to a stop at the edge of the dock. Fear, sadness and memories came from the past as Iroh said, "Zuko."

He closed his eyes and hung his head as he started to think of the worst for his nephew. Unbeknown to him, the Winter Soldier stood back at the shore, horrified for his friend. But his gaze hardened as he knew the ones responsible for it.

\\_|_/

It was late at night at the North Pole as Sokka quickly made his way to the bridge. Princess Yue was already there waiting for him and was gazing up to the sky. Walking sideways to her he came up right beside her and said, "Hi, Princess Yue."

She looked away, and though Sokka didn't understand it, he then said, "I made you something."

He brought his hand around and opened his palm. Princess Yue looked down to see a little wooden figure carved as he said, "I carved it myself."

"It's a bear." Princess Yue said, thinking that it looked like one. Sokka then turned it around, "Actually, it's supposed to be a fish." Then he pointed to one end, "See, it has a fin."

"Oh." Princess Yue said, seeing it. Then with shame in her voice she said, "I'm sorry." She looked away while sounding distressed, "I made a mistake." Completely turning from him she ran off while stating, "I shouldn't have asked you to come here."

A heartbroken Sokka watched as she ran off and stood her as his heart shattered into a million pieces. Then in an act of hurt and frustration he threw his carving into the water. He started to breath heavy when a set of footsteps came up. Thinking it was Yue, Sokka quickly wiped his eyes before looking to see Thor coming up the stairs. Sokka then shrugged, "Oh, it's you, Thor. What brings you out here?"

"Well, I did promise to be your wingman…" Thor said as he made it sound like as if he had just remembered. Then he said, "But now I come as a friend, to help another."

Sokka smiled in appreciation to this and Thor leaned forward against the railing and said, "Did you try to give her the carving?"

"Yeah." Sokka said as he leaned forward as well. Thor then said, "It's a good thing that she didn't accept it." Sokka looked to him as he then said, "No offense, but your work could use a little more work."

Sokka looked at him with an annoyed scowl.

\\_|_/

The two friends made it back to their living quarters as Sokka then said, "I just don't get it."

"I'm not sure my friend." Thor said as they walk in. While the other four were getting ready for bed, Katara looked up to her brother and asked, "How's warrior training been going?"

Sokka's response was kicking his sleeping bag with a frustrated grunt and then flopping his face down on it. Aang then asked, "That bad?"

"No." Sokka said as he lifted his head up and put his arms under it. Then he sounded really upset as he talked about his date, "It's Princess Yue. I don't get it. One minute she wants to go out with me, and the next, she's telling me to get lost."

Both Aang and Katara laid down with glum faces as well. Sokka then asked, "So how's waterbending training?"

"Yes, let us hear how the two of you stepped into a bigger world of the art." Thor said as he sat down on the other side. Steve sighed as he laid down as well before saying, "The only one who was able to step into that bigger world was Aang."

"I'm not sure I understand." Thor said as he was confused. Looking to the girl he asked, "Were you not going to learn under that master as well?"

Katara fell down on her sleeping bag with a sigh and her hood fell over her head as Aang then said with a glare, "Master Poop-head won't teach her because she's a girl."

"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?" Sokka suggested. This caused both Steve and Nat to look up to him while her hood fell off of Katara's head. Then she smiled as she said, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"How come we didn't think of that earlier?" Natasha asked Steve. The super soldier could only shrug. Getting up, Katara then looked to Aang and said, "At night, you teach me whatever moves you learn from Master Pakku. That way, you can have someone to practice with, and I get to learn waterbending. Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy." Sokka said as he looked away. Katara placed her hands on her hips while pointing out, "But you're never happy." With a gesture of her hands, she said, "Come on, Aang."

"I'll come too." Natasha said as she got up. Using his airbending to stand up, Aang then rushed after the Waterbender. Momo chittered and looked to the down casted Sokka. Steve then asked, "So what exactly happened tonight?"

"It didn't go very well, let's leave it at that." Sokka said as he rolled onto his back.

\\_|_/

Water gurgled as Aang started to bend the water out of the water way. Natasha watched while leaning against a wall and Katara stood off to the side. As he pulled it out, he whispered, "Master Pakku said this move is all about sinking and floating."

He passed over to Katara and she was able to hold onto it. She then moved it over her head before holding it in front of her. She excitedly said, "I got it!"

Then she became confused as the water started to move on its own as it went over her head, around her feet and up the wall. Natasha was really surprised before she looked up. Gripping the sides of his head, Aang was truly astounded as he said, "That was amazing!"

"That wasn't me." Katara honestly said. Natasha came up next to them and said, "I think it was him."

Both Benders looked up to see Master Pakku standing on the bridge above them with the confiscated water. Moving it above his head, Master Pakku put on foot on the side of the bridge and turned it into ice spikes that embedded themselves into the ice bridge. Aang then tried to explain, "I was just showing Katara a few moves."

"You have disrespected me, my teachings," His eyes narrowed as he then added, "and my entire culture."

"I'm sorry, I…" Aang tried to say. But Master Pakku wouldn't hear any of it as he stated, "You are no longer welcome as my student."

The old master then turned and walked off into the night. Aang, Katara and Natasha all looked up to his retreating form with shocked faces.

\\_|_/

The three rushed back to their quarters and barged in. Sokka, Steve and Thor lifted their heads and the Asgardian asked, "What's happened?"

"Are we being attacked?" Steve added. Sokka then drowsily asked, "No, Papa, I don't want my bacon burned to a crisp."

The other five looked to him with weirded out looks before Aang then said, "No and no, to both of those." He looked down in shame as he said, "Master Pakku caught me trying to show Katara a few waterbending moves and is no longer taking me as his student?"

"What?" All three of them shout before standing up. Steve was truly baffled as he asked, "Shouldn't there be like a warning system before such a big decision like that be made?"

"And does Pakku not understand what should happen if you are unable to master the element of water?" Thor questioned. Sokka then suggested, "Maybe we could try talking to Chief Arnook about it? I'm sure he could help somehow."

This seemed to calm all five of them down. Katara placed a hand to her chin and said, "Wow, two for two in one night. That's a great idea, Sokka."

"I try." He said while brushing off his sleeve. Aang then said, "Then it's settled; we'll try talking to the chief to talk to Pakku about taking me back as a student."

"Then let's get some rest." Katara said and they all laid down.

\\_|_/

The next morning, the group had gone directly to the Northern chief and told him of their predicament. They were in the throne room where the chief not only his daughter and Master Pakku with him, but four advisor's right behind them. After they finished, Chief Arnook then questioned, "What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes." Katara said with a hardened face. But it softened as she then said, "please."

"Besides," Steve put in, "you know how important it is for Aang to learn waterbending."

"That I do know, Captain." Chief Arnook said. Then he offered, "But I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him."

Katara had a slight glare, but then looked back to Aang, knowing that she couldn't mess it up for him. Then with a sigh of defeat, Katara turned back to the master with a slight glare, "Fine."

"I'm waiting little girl." Master Pakku smugly said. Katara clenched her fists to that, changing her mind and she shouted in fury, "No." Her anger getting the best of her bending, cracks formed around her and got bigger as Katara shouted, "NO way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!"

The cracks from her angry bending spread all the way to large pots filled with water and shattered them. The five behind her looked at what she did and Aang tried to say, "Uh, Katara?"

"Here we go again." Sokka muttered as he remembered the last time that happened. But Katara didn't hear them as she challenged, "I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me."

Six out of seven of the Northern Tribe council gasped to this declaration while Master Pakku remained firm with a scowl. Everyone watched as Katara walked out of the chamber. Aang turned back to them and tried to ease tensions by smiling as he pointed to her and said, "I'm sure she didn't mean that."

"Yeah," Sokka said, stating otherwise, "I think she did."

Aang's look fell from Sokka's comment while the three Avengers sighed from the teen's honesty. They turned and quickly followed Katara out of the chamber.

\\_|_/

It was a little early in the morning back at the Fire Nation base camp. In the admiral's tent, Zhao poured a cup of tea for his honored guests. Iroh and Johann Schmidt sat across or adjacent from the admiral as they then took their cups. Though Iroh would know otherwise, Zhao still said, "I'm devastated to hear about Prince Zuko. Just devastated."

"It must be a difficult time for you, General Iroh." The Red Skull added. Iroh had his eyes closed before stating, "The Fire Lord will not be pleased when he learns who was responsible."

"You know who was behind the attack?" Zhao asked him as his eyes slightly widened. Iroh pounded a fist against the table after he then revealed, "Yes. Pirates." Then he told of their history with them, "We had a run-in with them awhile back." Zhao slightly smirked before he took a sip of his tea as Iroh said, "They wanted revenge."

"So," Zhao said as he set his cup on the table, "have you reconsidered my offer?"

"We would greatly accept your participation in what will be a mark in history." Johann stated. Iroh nodded and said, "Yes, I accept." But then he added, "But if I may ask…"

"Anything, General Iroh." Zhao said, willing to do anything to keep him on board. Iroh then asked, "If I may have the Winter Soldier as a body guard?"

"Why would you need a body guard?" Johann questioned as he was about to take a sip. Iroh then explained, "The pirates could be more than likely to come after me since I was with Prince Zuko during our brief time with them. I would like a little protection to make sure that I live during the voyage."

"Then granted." Admiral Zhao said. Though he didn't show it, Iroh knew that a piece had fallen into place. Iroh then said, "It will be an honor to serve as your general."

"To the Fire Nation and Hydra." Iroh said as he raised his glass for a toast. Johann raised his as he said, "To the march of the future."

"To victory." Zhao said as he raised his glass last.

Outside the tent, the Winter Soldier heard everything while he and a Fire Nation soldier stood guard outside the tent. They both glanced to each other and nodded.

\\_|_/

Back at the Northern Water Tribe, the six friends walked down the stairs while Sokka questioned his sister's choice, "Are you crazy, Katara? You're not going to win this fight."

"He does have a point." Natasha pointed out, "Years of practice and his skill level."

"I know." Katara stated while she removed her fur coat and threw it at her brother. Then she stated, "I don't care."

"You don't have to do this for me." Aang tried to reason with her. He tried to put her mind at ease, "I can find another teacher."

But Katara surprised them by saying, "I'm not doing it for you." When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Katara was really angry as she said, "Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy."

"Well, I'm all for one for putting some sense into him." Natasha said before moving in front of Katara. Then she said, "But maybe you should consider Pakku's reasonings for why he acts this way."

"It might be, if he wasn't such an arrogant jerk." Katara said with crossed arms. She looked back to see Master Pakku walking down the stairs. Turning to him she questioned, "So, you decided to show up?"

Master Pakku didn't say anything as he continued to walk down the stairs. He didn't even so much as glance at the group as he walked past them. Confused, Katara questioned him, 'Aren't you going to fight?"

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women, where you belong." Pakku said while not looking back. That struck a nerve for Katara as she bent a small stream of water into her hand. Then holding it like a whip, she went through the motion of lashing out. Natasha started to move towards her and shouted, "Katara, no!"

But it was too late as the other end of the water whip struck Master Pakku. The man lurched forward from the blow and seemed to have taken it the blow seriously. Katara stepped away from her friends in case of what happens next. Deciding to amuse her he said, "Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad," He turned back to Katara as he had a knowing look in his eye as he said with a slight smirk, "study closely."

Then with a waving movement from his arms, Pakku raised to large streams of water from two wells. Then he moved it around himself as he prepared. Aang, Sokka, Steve, Natasha and Thor watched in awe and fear as they hoped their friend new what she was doing. Katara tried running at him from his left, but Pakku was able to quickly maneuver the water and caused it to smack into Katara. She grunted as she was blasted back and fell on the ground. But she was able to move to where she landed on her feet and looked up to Master Pakku. Pakku moved the water around the both of them and trapped Katara inside the ring. As he made it to where it would move her closer he assured, "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

Katara continued to move forward as the wall of water moved forward. Katara was able to smack the water away. Unfortunately, the water was sent towards her friends and a few bystanders. Though strangely enough, only Sokka was hit as he was knocked away by the stream of water, "Ow!"

Everyone looked to see the Southern Water Tribe teen land on his back. Steve and Thor were the ones to rush up and help Sokka back onto his feet. Though his head hung, it came for a moment while his eyes spun and then fell back again. They quickly moved everyone up the stairs to keep them out of the crossfire. Katara ran towards Master Pakku again with another whip in her hands, but the old master raised an ice wall. Katara slid across the frozen surface, flew up into the air, flipped in the air and came landing on a post on her knees. She looked back as Master Pakku glanced to the ice wall while melting it down into a wave of water and sent it at her. Katara braced herself while standing up and twisting her feet to where they became frozen in place. She bent the water around her before sending it away. She turned her stance to him before standing tall and sounding strong, "You can't knock me down."

The crowd had moved to where they could watch and cheered for the young Waterbender. Even Aang was rooting for her when he placed both hands to his mouth and shouted, "Go, Katara!"

Unfreezing her feet, Katara jumped off the post and ran at Pakku a third time. But when she was but a few feet from him, Pakku quickly melted some snow at his feet and created an ice wall. Katara melted it away before trying to punch at him. Pakku moved out of the way of one punch before using a wave of water to knock Katara into one of the wells. Everyone looked in surprise and shock while a smirk grew on Pakku's face. Katara resurfaced and shook the water out of her eyes before glaring at Pakku. Seeing Katara getting back caused everyone to cheer. Katara raised a small pillar of ice from the well and with a quick motion of her hand, she sent ice disks Pakku's way. With careful timing, Pakku was able to break each of the blades that came his way. But time seemed to slow down as one blade came really close to his face. The pace returned to normal when Pakku turned back to Katara with a weirded out face. Moving out of the water, Katara twists while summoning a stream of water around her. With a well, she sent it at him. But Pakku was able to grab it with his will before twisting it around him before raising it behind him. Katara came running at him once again, but with a swift motion of both hands, Pakku struck the water on both sides of Katara. She gasps before being struck by the water.

The growing crowd on top of the stairs eyes grew wide at the way the fight was going. Even Katara's friends and brother's eyes widened to it. Pushing herself onto her knees, Katara's hair was starting to fall out of place as she took in a deep breath. Then quickly standing tall again, she was able to make two totem poles made of ice fall onto Pakku. With a swift motion of his hands, Pakku was able to turn the pots into an icy dust. When it settled, Pakku resumed his stance and was genuinely amazed by how well Katara was holding her own, "Well, I'm impressed." He certainly looked it as he had a smirk, 'You _are_ an excellent Waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara questioned with a slight glare. Pakku's face fell as he gave his answer, "No."

With an angry grunt, Katara bent some of the ice in front of her and sent another wave of water at him. Pakku jumped over it while creating a pillar of ice underneath him to raise himself higher. Then with a flick of his wrist, he turned into a wave that he rode towards Katara. Katara tried to send a stream of water at him, but Pakku was able to disperse it and turn it into a frozen arch that he used to slid at her. Katara cried out as he pushed her down. But the blow caused her mother's necklace to fell from her neck. Pakku came sliding to a stop before jumping with a twist onto a well. Katara fell to the ground with a groan, her hair disheveled and exhausted from the exertion. Pushing herself back up, Katara panted as she fought to regain her breath. Deciding to end it, Master Pakku lifted a stream of water high into the air. With a slight clench of his hands, Pakku raised it above Katara and flicked his wrists. The water turned into ice shards and Pakku moved them to where they trapped Katara in place. Her friends could only watch in worry for her. The other Northern Tribe people looked in horror, thinking that Pakku went a little too far. Even one child hugged someone as they tried to comfort the kid. But it proved to be otherwise when Katara raised her head and tried to free herself. Master Pakku started to walk away while stating, "This fight is over."

"Come back here!" Katara shouted as he walked right past her trapped self. Wanting to prove to herself she said, "I'm not finished yet."

"Yes," Master Pakku said, believing otherwise, "you are."

But when he looked down, he noticed Katara's necklace on the ground. When he reached down to pick it up and recognized it. Pakku then held it between both hands as he said, "This is my necklace."

"No, it's not! It's mine!" Katara said, thinking otherwise. Then she demanded, "Give it back!"

Natasha saw his expression and soon pieces began to fill in the blanks as he said, "I made this sixty years ago for the love of my life." Katara's trap melted as did Pakku's heart as he said, "For Kanna."

"My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry _you_?" Katara asked, now seeing him in a different light.

\\_|_/

At Fire Nation harbor where Zhao's forces were preparing, General Iroh walked through a hall and was passing a soldier. Or stopped when the soldier stopped, and discreetly told the masked soldier, "Our plan is working perfectly. Zhao doesn't suspect a thing."

"You didn't have to do this." Prince Zuko said as he removed the mask from his face. Though he had been injured by the explosion, he was a survivor as he stood by his uncle. Iroh glanced to his nephew and said, "No nephew of mine is going to stow away on a ship without some backup."

"Thank you, Uncle." Prince Zuko said, truly grateful for his uncle. The clanging of a door nearby, caused Iroh to look in the direction. Then he warned, "Someone's coming." With a final few words he instructed, "Stay hidden until we get to the North Pole, and at least the Avatar is sure to be yours. Good luck."

The two then began to walk off when Prince Zuko looked back and quietly asked, "I haven't seen the Winter Soldier for quite some time. Do you know where he is?"

This caused Iroh to stop in his tracks before he looked back and said, "Though I told him not to, he said he had something to quickly take care of."

\\_|_/

It was around noon at the port where the pirates had docked for the day. But all wasn't well as two of the pirate's heads were bashed together. The pirate captain used his blade to slash at the Winter Soldier, but the super soldier used his mechanical arm to block the blade. The arm caused the blade to bend at an awkward angle and the captain gasped from it. The Winter Soldier grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and with a twist threw him off the side of the ship. The captain yelled as he fell into the water. Taking a match out of his pocket, the Winter Soldier looked to the remaining pirates and said, "You might want to get out of here."

They all gasped before quickly making their way over the sides of the ship. Dropping the match unto the flames, the Winter Soldier ran to the side of the ship before jumping onto the docks below. Landing in a superhero pose, the Winter Soldier then started to walk away from the ship as the sparks quickly traveled down a trail of black powder. When he had reached the end of the planks, the pirate ship became a raging inferno as the fire touched the remaining blasting jelly. Knowing that they wouldn't be a problem anymore, the Winter Soldier made his way back to the launch site for the invasion.

\\_|_/

Back at the Northern Water Tribe, most of the crowd had dispersed and only the group, the chief and the princess remained. Katara stood a few feet from him as Master Pakku then said, "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged." He looked up into the sky as he said with what was once hope, "I thought we would have had a long, happy life together." They all could hear it in his voice as he said, "I loved her."

"But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage." Katara asked and he glanced back. Tears welled up in Princess Yue's eyes as this might have reflected of her own life. Katara walked up to Pakku and said, "Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left." Pakku held the necklace close as Katara felt like she knew her Gran-Gran a little better, "It must have taken a lot of courage."

Princess Yue broke out into tears as she ran away sobbing. Sokka watched her run until a comforting hand on his shoulder made him look to Aang. The Airbender had a smile and said, "Go get her."

Sokka didn't need to be told twice as he ran after the princess. Natasha then walked up to Master Pakku and said, "I thought that the loss of a love might have made you turn out this way."

"Why would you-" Master Pakku said, confused. Natasha then said, "I talked to an old friend of yours and he told me the story." Then she glanced away as she admitted, "Part of it anyway. He said he didn't remember Kanna's name around the time."

"Or maybe I was just pretending to be senile." A familiar voice to Nat said. Everyone looked to see the old man walking up a set of stairs. Master Pakku looked to his old friend and said, "It has been quite some time, old friend."

"That it has, Pakku." The old man said. Then Pakku asked, "Can you forgive me for not coming to see you?"

"Of course I can." The old man said with a hearty chuckle. But then he asked, "But can you do a favor for me in return?"

"Anything, old friend." Master Pakku said with a smile. The old man looked to Katara and Aang and said, "I think it would be best if you take these two under your wing. They both have great potential in them."

"I think you may be right." Master Pakku said as his smile never left. Looking to both Aang and Katara he said, "I look forward to seeing you both at sunrise."

Aang and Katara both had large grins on their faces before they calmed down and bowed in respect. Then in unison they said, "Yes, Master Pakku."

\\_|_/

It was later that night as a crescent moon hung in the night sky over the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka soon found Princess Yue standing on the bridge where she had asked to meet him. Noticing his presence, Yue's eyes narrowed as she looked to him and questioned, "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing." Sokka said as he came right up to her and she turned to him. Then he tried to cheer her up as he said, "I just want you to know I think you're beautiful." His head hung as he then said, "And I never thought a girl like you would even notice a guy like me."

"You don't understand." Princess Yue said, a swirl of emotions going through her. Sokka then held his hands up in a defensive manner as he calmly said, "No, no. See, that's the thing." He sounded like someone to be there for her as he said, "I think I do understand now." Then he expressed the differences between them by saying, "You're a princess and I'm…" He sounded ashamed as he revealed, "I'm just a southern peasant."

"No. Sokka." Princess Yue said, knowing that it wasn't that. Sokka then decided to try and tell her that he wouldn't bother her anymore with that, "It's okay, you don't have to say anything." He turned to walk away, "I'll see you around, okay?"

But Princess Yue's heart felt different as she grabbed his arm and pulled him close. Turning his head towards hers, the princess gave Sokka a kiss on the lips. When they parted, a confused Sokka then said, "Okay, now I'm really confused." He smiled when he admitted, "Happy," But then he looked confused again as he took one of her hands, "but confused."

"I do like you." Princess Yue admitted, "A lot." She then explained, "But we can't be together. And not for the reason you think. It's because…" She felt ashamed and sad as she pulled down the part of her coat the concealed her neck to reveal a special necklace as she said, "I'm engaged."

Sokka was completely shocked by the revelation. Princess Yue looked him in the eye and said, "I'm sorry."

Then she turned and ran off without another word. Sokka hung his head as he was once again sad. The sound of footsteps caused him to look back and he said, "Oh, Thor. It's you again." But then he quirked an eyebrow and asked, "But who's that with you?"

"This is a friend of Master Pakku's, and I've told him that you were having some problems trying to win the princess's heart." Thor explained. The old man walked up to Sokka and said, "Son, I know that it hurts now, but if you really like this girl, then I have just one thing to say about it."

Placing a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder he said, "Don't you ever give up on her. For love is a true mystery."

Though he didn't understand it, Sokka still took his words to heart and looked in the direction of the running Princess Yue.

\\_|_/

The next morning, Aang had left their room early to get an early start on his lessons. There were four other waterbending students watching as Aang swirled a sphere of water around him. Then after one more pass, he sent it off. Then he looked to Master Pakku with a smile. Slightly impressed, Master Pakku then said, "Not bad, not bad." Trying to sound not too pleasant yet not too grouchy he said after a chuckle, "Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it by the time you're my age."

Aang lowered his arms while looking to his teacher with a deadpanned look before turning to Katara as she ran up the stairs for her first official practice. She ran up to Aang as he said, "Hey, Katara."

"What do you think you're doing?" Master Pakku questioned with a stern gaze. Katara had just regained her breath when Master Pakku had a smile, "It's past sunrise." Assuming his waterbending stance he lightly scolded, "You're late."

His two newest students assumed their own stances and Aang said to Katara, "Good to see you here."

"You, too." Katara said with equal excitement. All of the student's followed Master Pakku's example as he then started to teach the class.

\\_|_/

Thor, Steve and Natasha were walking down a street as they continued to catch up. Thor looked to his friends and asked, "And you're sure that you've been seeing many soldiers from Hydra."

"Yeah, it looks like Red Skull's nearing completion of his machine." Natasha deduced. Steve then added, "Which means that they'll be bringing their war machines to this world soon."

"And with them helping the Fire Nation," Thor said, "they'll be able to end this war before taking it back to ours."

"Then we need to find the others." Steve said. He looked between the two and said, "Only with all of us together along with the kids, do we stand a chance to beating both Hydra and the Fire Nation."

"But we can't rush Aang and Katara's training." Thor reminded. Then he added, "Plus Aang still needs to learn Earth and Fire to be a fully realized Avatar, if I remember what you told me."

"There might be a slight problem with that last one." Steve then said. The other two looked to him as they stopped and Nat asked, "And you say that why?"

"Do you remember his first firebending lesson." Steve asked her. She nodded and he said, "Well, Aang has made a solemn vow to never firebend again."

"But he must if he hopes to defeat that Fire Lord." Thor said. Steve shrugged and then said, "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there."

"Whatever you say." Natasha said as they then continued on their way.

\\_|_/

The massive Fire Nation fleet started to move out from the harbor. On the flag ship that had a golden bow, Admiral Zhao stood with General Iroh standing behind him as they gazed out to the North of the ocean. While Iroh had his hands in his sleeves and Zhao had his hands behind him, Zhao didn't move as he a had a confident look on his face. Johann Schmidt walked out onto the balcony and asked, "I assume that you have everything ready?"

"Yes." Admiral Zhao said without turning his head. He sounded confident as he said, "My fleet is ready."

"Then I will be taking my leave to oversee the final preparations for the rest of Hydra's troops." The Red Skull informed the Admiral. Then without another word, the Red Skull turned behind him and opened a portal. Stepping through, he was gone in an instant and the portal closed. The Winter Soldier then walked out and stood behind the general when the admiral then ordered, "Set a course for the Northern Water Tribe."

The flagship's main smoke column let loose a torrent of fire to signal to the other ships and set sail. Then each other the other Fire Navy ships unleashed a column of smoke and followed after Zhao's ship. There were many ships that were ready to begin the invasion.

\\_|_/

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

\\_|_/

 **Author's Note:** Only two more chapters and then the Ending Titles before Book One of Avenging Avatar is finished. I must apologize that it took me over a year to finish the first book. But it will get done. I decided to give the pirates a little comeuppance for what they did to Zuko and a little more dialogue after the fight between Katara and Pakku because I didn't want anything unresolved. But next time to get to Part 1 of Siege of the North. Plus did you all like Stan Lee's roll in this chapter. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	19. Chapter 19: Siege of the North Part 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **A/N:** And here is the first part of Siege of the North. I'm going to make sure that there's enough of Avenger action along in it, but hopefully I can do it right. And I do apologize for the long flashbacks, but I did feel that they were necessary and they're in the order of the previous episodes.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Water Tribe children Katara and Sokka stare at a now bobbing and glowing iceberg. Inside the iceberg they see two beings: a large creature and a boy._

 _After freeing the two, Katara sets the boy against the ice. They boy wakes and stands up, shows them his flying bison Appa and said, "I'm Aang."_

 _A moment later something falls from the sky. After said something lands, they see that it was a man dressed in a blue uniform. When the man wakes up he introduces himself, "My name's Steve Rogers."_

 _A bright blue portal opens, allowing the Red Skull and the Winter Soldier to cross over to the other world. Schmidt turns to Zuko and said, "I'll leave the Winter Soldier with you."_

 _Steve looked to them and said, "My friends are lost somewhere on your world."_

 _On Kyoshi Island, the group run into Natasha Romanoff, another Avenger._

 _He looked serious as he said, "You must master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord." He put on a smile as he said, "And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."_

 _King Bumi turns to his old friend and said, "It is the duty of the Avatar to master all four elements and confront the Firelord._

 _Aang asks Katara about being the Avatar, "How is Roku supposed to help me?"_

 _Aang, Sokka, and Katara looked to the two Avengers and the former said, "I promise we'll help you find a way to help Bucky."_

 _Aang feels depressed as he sits on the ash covered ground of the burnt forest and said, "Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."_

" _The Avatar before you?" Sokka questions and then points out, "He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?"_

 _Aang waves his hand in front of Katara and the old man. When he notices that it's completely blue, he raised it to the sun. He then realized as he said, "I'm in the spirit world!"_

 _As the group flew on Appa, Katara then recited of what order Aang had to master the elements as she said, "According to legend, you need to master water, then earth and fire, right?"_

" _That's why we're going to the North Pole," Katara said to Aang as he sat on his knees in the burnt forest, "to find you a teacher."_

" _Yeah, a waterbending teacher." Aang said, not feeling the same thing._

" _But I haven't even begun to learning waterbending. Not to mention earth and fire." A distraught Aang told his predecessor Avatar Roku._

 _Roku then told him, "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and patience. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."_

 _This causes Aang's face to fall in despair as he felt the weight of the world falling onto his shoulders._

" _Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked in confusion. Aang looked at them, then reluctantly said, "Because, because I never wanted to be."_

" _Captain Zhao." Prince Zuko said with crossed arms. Zhao had a smirk on his face as he corrected him, "It's commander now."_

" _No home, no allies." Zhao states as he looks down on the prince before adding the topper, "Your own father doesn't even want you."_

" _There's a storm coming." A fisherman's wife tried to tell her husband. Aang's eyes grew wide as she said, "A bad one."_

" _Storm clouds are gathering." Monk Gyatso says during telling Aang that he was the Avatar._

" _It seems I have been promoted to Admiral." A glad Zhao says as he reads a message from Fire Lord Ozai._

" _I will leave you with a few of Hydra's troops." Johann Schmidt says before taking his leave._

 _Then Zhao looked to the leader of Hydra and said, "I plan to hold a meeting in a week or two, I ask that you join us. I have something big planned to not only help us capture the Avatar and the two Avengers with him, but to also further our victory in the war."_

" _I will see what I can do." The Red Skull said as he turned away. But before he could open the return portal, Zhao said, "We may need to have a talk about Hydra's greatest weapon."_

 _The Red Skull looked back with narrowed eyes to the admiral's words._

 _At the Northern Air Temple after the battle against their enemies, the Mechanist offered, "If there is anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask."_

" _Well," Steve said and then asked, "Maybe if you meet a few people that don't seem like they're from any of the four nations…"_

" _You could send them our way." Natasha finished. Teo's father nodded and said, "Consider it done. And I'll be more than likely to tell if they're your friends."_

" _Why yes, my good sir." A voice said from underneath a tree. The Mechanist squinted his eyes at the person as they then asked, "I was wondering if you had seen some friends of mine."_

" _There it is!" An excited Aang shouted as they neared the Northern Water Tribe._

 _As they floated down a canal, Sokka spots a beautiful girl sitting on a boat as they pass each other. He blushes to her beauty._

" _In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending." Master Pakku sternly reveals. Katara looked to the old man with trembling eyes as she was infuriated by the news._

 _After a quick fight between them, Master Pakku looks down to see Katara's necklace lying there. Picking it up, memories flooded back to him as he said, "This is my necklace."_

 _After gaining a newfound bond with Master Pakku, Aang and Katara both had smiles as they started to learn under waterbending Master Pakku._

" _And you are sure that you have seen many soldiers from Hydra." Thor asks his friends. Natasha nods and said, "It seems like Hydra's nearing completion of their teleportation machine."_

" _Which means that they'll be bringing their war machines to this world soon." Steve added._

" _I assume that you have everything ready?" Johann Schmidt asks Admiral Zhao as the fleet starts the launch. Zhao nods and says, "My fleet is ready._

" _Then I will be taking my leave." The Red Skull informs before vanishing into a portal. Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier stand behind Zhao as orders, "Set a course for the Northern Water Tribe."_

 _Drifting behind the main flagship, many other Fire Navy ships followed after to begin the invasion._

\\_|_/

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Nineteen: The Siege of the North Part 1- The Invasion**

It was a clear day in the Northern Water Tribe, not much activity going on in the streets of the main city. But closer up to the palace, Master Pakku's students were about to put their skills to the test. One Waterbender looked really nervous while Katara only smirked at her opponent. With a circular wave of his arms, the boy raised a glob of water from the ground and froze it before hurling towards Katara. Katara caught the chuck of ice before melting it and then combining it with other puddles of water. Then waving it towards her fellow student, she enveloped him in the liquid before raising it and freezing it to where he couldn't move. The boy grunted as he tried to free himself, but it was no use as to how stuck he was. Katara relaxed her Waterbender's stance while Master Pakku walked up behind and gave a little criticism, "Nice try, pupil Sangok. A couple of more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge."

Master Pakku turned to his pupils before twisting his hands to melt the ice around Sangok. The boy fell to the ground with a yell before falling onto his back. Master Pakku walked up to the other students and asked, "Would anyone care for a rematch with Katara?"

Most of the students looked really reluctant to try again against the southern Waterbender. While most sat in shame, others were still suffering the beat down as one boy still had his legs frozen, another was on his back trying to breathe and a third coated in snow. When they heard footsteps coming down the steps, they all glanced back as Natasha came walking down the stairs with a smirk on her face. The spy looked to each of them and said, "Man, you guys sure look like you've been through the wringer." Then she offered, "Why don't I take a crack at it and show you boys how it's done."

She looked over to the master and asked, "If it's all right with you, sir?"

"Hm." Master Pakku said as he thought about it. Looking to his students he said, "Perhaps a demonstration from a different source will help motivate you all into working harder to become master Waterbenders." Gazing up at the spy he said, "Very well."

Natasha smirked as she moved down to the training ground and stood before Katara. The young Waterbender smirked as well while they both assumed their respective stances. Master Pakku looked between the two before raising both arms dramatically and shouts, "Begin!"

Katara waved her arms in a circular motion to create a wall of water around her while Natasha came running at the young Waterbender. Katara sent the wall of water as a wave to Natasha. Natasha jumped and rolled out of the way before picking up a chuck of ice and chucking it Katara. Katara was able quickly bring her wave of water back and the ice chunk was swallowed and turned into water as well. Katara gasped as she then ducked under a high kick from Natasha and sent a blast of water at her friend. Natasha grunted as the water knocks her back. When she hit the ground she looked up to see Katara patiently waiting for her. Quickly getting up, the S.H.I.E.L.D. ran up to her and jumped over the next blast of water. Katara quickly backed away from Nat as she came in with a flurry of punches. Katara was able to at least block a few of those punches when Nat lightly grazed her cheek. Katara then blasted her back with another spray of water. Natasha flew through the air before maneuvering to where she could land on her feet and crouched. She looked up to see that Katara had her hands coated in water and held them to her side. Natasha then sighed before saying, "Alright, I'll give you this one."

They both then started to chuckle before Katara put away the water and held out a hand. Being a good sport, Natasha took it and Katara helped her back to her feet. Katara then asked, "Everything okay."

"Yeah, nothing really feeling like it's broken." Natasha said as she stretched out to make sure that nothing was indeed broken. Katara then bent a small stream of water and applied it to where Natasha grazed her cheek. Using her healing abilities it quickly went away. They were interrupted when Master Pakku cleared his throat. Nat nodded to Katara and stepped back.

Master Pakku walked over to his first female pupil and acknowledged, "Katara, you've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained." Katara smiled as he complemented, "You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything."

"Raw talent alone," He then said as he gazed to one of his students to make a point, "is not enough."

Both Katara and Natasha looked to see Aang goofing around by laying on his side and using an Air Sphere that Momo rode as he chittered with joy over his head. Katara and Nat looked at him with questioning and disbelieving stares while Master Pakku called out, "Pupil Aang."

"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang said as he sat up, losing focus on the Air Sphere, and Momo fell onto his head. Master Pakku then asked with crossed arms, "Care to step into sparring circle?" Then he dryly said, 'I figure, since that you found the time to play with house pets," Momo leapt off of Aang's head as Pakku then sarcastically said, "you must have already mastered waterbending."

Aang used his airbending to stand up as he said, "I wouldn't say "mastered,"" He had a smile as he said, "check this out."

With a circular wave of his arms, Aang was able to bend a mound of snow around him and turned himself into a snowman with a smiley face. Momo then tackled the snowman in the face, causing Aang to laugh. Master Pakku, Katara and Natasha looked to him with annoyed looks. Nat looked to Katara and rhetorically asked, "And we came all this way to help _him_?"

Katara just sighed as she and Master Pakku shook their heads.

\\_|_/

In another part of the city, Sokka was currently taking a walk on the town. Sokka had decided to bring both Steve and Thor along since they had nothing better to do at the moment. Princess Yue hadn't minded at the thought of extra company and thought it was sweet that Sokka offered to have them come along. They were walking across a bridge while Sokka walked on the sides. Princess Yue looked to the teen from her sister tribe and asked, "They don't have palaces in the Southern Tribe?"

"Are you kidding?" Sokka said as he fought to keep his balance. Then he made a little joke, "I grew up on a block of ice." Sitting down he said, "It's not exactly a cultural hub."

While Princess Yue laughed and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, Steve and Thor just remained silent for the moment. Looking to the super soldier, the Asgardian asked, "You were at the South Pole, correct?"

"For at least two days." Steve said, then added, "But he's right about the no palaces down there."

"Ah." Thor said as he understood. Then he asked, "But what about the other locations down at the South Pole?"

"To be honest, there wasn't much talk about other villages." Steve admitted. Then he said, "But it still baffles me on what happened to the other Southern Waterbenders?"

"Perhaps that mystery will be solved in time." Thor offered. Steve slightly nodded and said, "Yeah, maybe."

The four of them continued to stand in the middle of the bridge as Sokka smiled to Yue. Princess Yue's face suddenly fell, and all three boys noticed this. She then looked to Sokka and said, "Sokka, this is wrong."

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked and his smile returned. Then he pointed out, "We're taking a walk."

"Yes," Thor put in, "unless her fiancé sees you with her and decides to beat you into the ground."

Steve looked to his friend while Sokka looked a little worried and Princess Yue closed her eyes and hung her head. She then looked to Sokka and said, "He's right. I'm engaged." Sokka's face fell as she tried to talk about how she felt, "It just feels…"

Then she turned away, but an idea came to the teen's mind, "I know what you need.

"You need to meet our good friend Appa." He said while hopping off the side of the bridge. A little confused, Princess Yue asked, "Who?"

"Hey, uh," Steve then said, "I think me and Thor will go and see how Aang and Katara's waterbending lessons are going to go."

"But I was also kind of wanting to meet Aang's animal guide." Thor put it. Acting quickly, Steve came closer and then whispered, "You do know that Sokka wants to show Yue a good time, by himself."

Thor seemed lost on the concept, and Steve sighed before gesturing for him to follow. Thor looked to the super soldier as he turned and shrugged as he was confused. Steve gave an eye roll before grabbing Thor's arm and leading him away. Sokka and Yue watched them go before Sokka then said, "Come on, you'll love Appa."

Quickly taking her hand, Sokka led Princess Yue down the bridge.

\\_|_/

"So why couldn't we go with Sokka and Princess Yue?" Thor asked as they walked through a street towards where the students learned waterbending. Steve then said, "He just wants to help her through a tough time since they can't be in a relationship together. And I've been around Sokka long enough to know that would be what he wanted."

"I assumed as much, but I think that we could still help." Thor put it. Steve sighed before saying, "Let's just go and see what the others are doing."

Thor didn't say anything more as he followed Steve.

\\_|_/

Sokka and Princess Yue walked into the holding pen and Sokka walked up to Appa. Princess Yue stood back while he looked back to her and said, "Appa and I go way back," Appa turned to him as Sokka then said, "don't we, boy?

"Ah!" He screamed when Appa responded by leaping towards him, knocking Sokka on his back and started licking his face. The princess and the oxen watched, only one looked amused as he shouted, "Ah, easy! Down boy, no! Up!"

"Looks like you haven't been giving Appa enough attention." Princess Yue said and slightly laughed while Sokka cringed from getting licked in the face. He then started to try and pull himself from underneath Appa's foot and muttered, "I suddenly wish Steve and Thor were here."

Fifteen minutes later…

After Sokka got himself unstuck, he helped Princess Yue into the saddle. And after grabbing the reins and sitting in the saddle himself, Sokka held on tight. Princess Yue looked to him and asked, "So how does this work?"

"You hanging on tight?" Sokka asks as she sits next to him. She nods, "Mm-hmm."

"Yip." He said with a glance to her and smirked. Then he looked out to the sky as he finished, "Yip."

With a flap of his tail, Appa and his passengers took to the air. Princess Yue was both startled and excited as she shouted, "Oh, my goodness!"

\\_|_/

From down on the ground, Steve and Thor look up to see Appa taking off into the sky. The super soldier looked to the Asgardian and said with a shrug, "He's got it covered."

The two of them then continued on their way while Appa flew higher into the sky.

\\_|_/

Appa flew outside of the Northern Tribe while Sokka kept hold of the reins and Princess Yue looked about. She was taken away and she said, "Wow…" She looked over the side as she was amazed before turning to him, "I can't believe you do this every day."

"Yeah," Sokka side while stretching, "we pretty much live up here."

"Is it always this cold in the sky?" Princess Yue asked while trying to keep warm. Then she pressed up next to him, making him blush a little. Then he admitted, "Not when you're with someone."

The two look into each other's eyes as she said, "It's beautiful up here."

"Yeah." Sokka said, a little nervous. The two teens looked into each other's eyes and leaned forward. They closed their eyes as their lips came closer to touching. But then their eyes snapped open and they backed away with Sokka saying, "Woo, yeah!"

Snow started to fall as he took a deep breath, "Ah… good times, good times."

It was then that they noticed black flakes started to fall with the regular snow. Pointing to the black flecks he said, "Hey, look."

"What's happening?" Princess Yue asked in confusion while lots of it started to rain down. Memories, bad ones, ran through Sokka's head as he remembered, "Oh, no."

\\_|_/

The black snow continued to fall over the entire Northern Tribe. The town's folk looked up to see the black snow continuing to fall. Back at the Waterbender training grounds, Aang was currently laughing as he rolled around in a rut in the snow. Momo sat in the center as he continued. Natasha growled in frustration before walking over to the Airbender and grabbing him by the arm. He looked up to her as she said, "Aang, this is your training. You can't be squandering it."

She would have continued but the black snow started to fall all around them. Momo stuck his tongue out to catch it. But the little lemur regretted it as he started coughing it out. Both Aang and Natasha looked to him before looking up into the sky. When Katara looked up as well, she gasped while her hands moved to her mouth. Around the Northern Tribe, the black snow contaminated the fountains around the city, making the water blacken.

As they approached the steps, both Steve and Thor looked up to see the black snow falling.

\\_|_/

When they had landed, both Sokka and Princess Yue got out of Appa's saddle. Moving a few feet from them, Sokka kneeled down and picked some of the blackened snow as he said, "Soot."

"What?" Princess Yue asked, confused. Sokka then regretfully said, "I've seen it before." He looked at the soot hard as he continued to remember, "Right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow."

"But why?" Princess Yue asked, not understanding why this was happening. Sokka had his eyes closed as he then said, "It's the Fire Nation." Opening his eyes as he looked to the horizon he added, "And their allies from Hydra." Turning to her he then warned, "They've closed in on the North Pole."

Dark clouds loomed over the sea, almost forecasting the coming invasion. Sokka looked back out as he said, "And from the looks of this stuff, I'd say that there's a lot of them.

"Come on, we need to get back." Sokka said, moving back to Appa. He helped Princess Yue back into the saddle to take off again.

\\_|_/

On their way towards the North Pole, the Fire Nation ships stayed in formation with each other as they sailed. From the upper deck of his flagship, Admiral Zhao didn't look back as he spoke to both Iroh and the Winter Soldier, "This will truly be one for the history books, my friends." Zhao seemed both confident and a little smug of his plans as he said, "Just think, centuries from now people will study the great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization."

Glancing to his left he said to the both of them, "You're both lucky that you're here to see it."

"Be careful what you wish for, Admiral." General Iroh warned. The Winter Soldier nodded and said, "Pride comes before the fall should you become to over confident."

"Awfully chatty aren't we?" Zhao questioned the assassin. Iroh then drew his attention by saying, "History is not always kind to its subjects." He looked down as he sadly said, "No one remains on top forever."

"I suppose you speak from experience." Zhao said, knowing full well what Iroh was walking about. But his ego somewhat inflated as he was confident in his plan. The admiral moved to the railing as he said, "But rest assured, this will be nothing like your legendary failure at Ba Sing Se."

"I hope not," Iroh said, feeling the weight of what happened in his heart, "for your sake."

The Winter Soldier chose to remain quiet. Admiral Zhao then ordered, "Tell the captains to prepare for first strike."

Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier turned to walk back inside to relay the admiral's orders. The ships broke through small ice bergs as they continued on their way.

\\_|_/

After delivering the orders to the captain, General Iroh and the Winter Soldier moved through the corridors of the ship. The Winter Soldier kept a lookout while they approached a Firebender soldier. The soldier had their back turned while the Winter Soldier looked behind them to see another soldier walking down an adjoining hall. When he was gone, the Hydra assassin nodded to Iroh. Iroh then turned to the Firebender and said, "We'll be landing soon. Do you have a plan?"

"I'm working on it, Uncle." Prince Zuko said as he removed the mask. The Winter Soldier said, "I apologize that you'll be going on the hunt for the Avatar alone."

"You have your mission, and I have mine." Prince Zuko said and placed the mask back into place.

\\_|_/

The beating of drums could be heard throughout the Northern Tribe as everyone ran to the palace. Everyone made their way up the stairs to attend the meeting. Those joining them was Sokka as he held Princess Yue's hand. But as they neared the top of the stairs she pulled her hand in his grasp to make him stop. Looking back to her he asked, "What's wrong?" Then gesturing to the palace he said, "We have to go!"

"No, Sokka, wait." Princess Yue said. Her feelings were still conflicted, even in a dire situation. Then sounding heartbroken she said, "I can't see you anymore. Not at all."

"What?" Sokka questioned, really confused. Then it dawned on him to what this was about. Then he turned to her and reminded, "We're just friends."

"I wish we could just be friends," Princess Yue said as she glanced away. She looked back to him as she admitted, "but I like you too much, and it's too confusing to be around you. I'm marrying someone else."

She turned away from him as he began to piece it together. Then he asked, "You don't love him, do you?" He thought about what kind of guy she was talking about and said, "You don't even seem to like him."

"But I do love my people." Princess Yue said as she looked to the horizon. Sokka shook his head and pointed it out, "You're not marrying them."

"You don't understand." She said while turning to him. Then putting her position out there, "I have duties to my father, to my tribe." Feeling that she had no other choice she said, "I have to do this." She ran past him as she gave a reluctant, "Good-bye."

Sokka looked with a saddened face as he watched her go. He was brought out of it when he heard Steve's voice shout, "Sokka! Get inside!"

Looking down the steps he saw both Steve and Thor running up the stairs to attend the meeting as well. All three of them ran to catch up with everyone else.

When they got inside, everyone from the Northern Tribe either sat or stood in front of the stage as Chief Arnook moved between Princess Yue and Master Pakku. He then addressed everyone, "The day we have feared for so long has arrived." The chief delivered the bad news, "The Fire Nation and their allies of Hydra are on our doorstep."

Mostly everyone looked to the chief with worried eyes as he continued, "It is with great sadness I call my family here before me," He looked to everyone while adding, "no matter who they are or where they are from. Knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe." He sounded hopeful when he added, "But they will never vanish from our hearts.

"Now," Chief Arnook said to get serious for the upcoming battle, "as we approach the fight for our very existence, I call upon the great spirits." Raising his hands he sent up a prayer, "Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon, be with us."

Turning his gaze to the tribe he said, "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

One brave soul stood up as Sokka said with determination, "Count me in."

"Sokka?!" A worried Katara said and looked to her brother. Aang and the three Avengers also looked to him with worried looks. They all looked to Chief Arnook as he then warned while other Tribesman stood up, "Be warned, many of you will not return from it." Then he instructed, "Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task."

The volunteers moved forward to the chief. But as Sokka moved to join them, Steve grabbed the teen's arm and questioned, "This better not to be an attempt to impress Yue, Sokka, cause if it is-"

"It's not." Sokka shook his head. Then he looked away and said, "I just want to be helpful."

Then without another word, Sokka turned to join the others to receive the mark. Princess Yue and Master Pakku stood up to stand next to the chief as the first volunteer stepped up. Dipping his first two fingers in a bowl of red paint, Chief Arnook then said gently brushed a bowing Tribesman's forehead. The next to receive the mark was a down looking Sokka. Princess Yue watched as Sokka bowed before her father and received the same mark on his forehead. When he was finished, Sokka then turned to the right to wait with the other volunteers. But before he stepped off the stage, he cast one last glance to Yue. They looked to each other before Sokka kept going. Princess Yue watched him go until she turned away with her eyes closed. Fearing the worse, tears rolled from her trembling eyes.

\\_|_/

After all the volunteers had come forward and were marked, everyone moved out to prepare themselves for the coming attack. Aang sat on one of the fence posts as he gazed out into the horizon with his staff in hand. Steve, Thor and Natasha came up behind him and Nat asked, "You okay, kid?"

"You seem to be thinking really hard about something." Steve added. Aang glanced back and said, "I'm just thinking of a way to help these people."

"Well, whatever we do," Thor said as he looked between them, "we will fight together as friends should."

All four of them smiled when Chief Arnook came up to them. He then asked, "I do appreciate your support, young Avatar and heroes. I doubt that we could win this battle without you.

"The stillness before battle is unbearable." Arnook said as he gazed out into the horizon with them. Katara joined them as he said, "Such a quiet dread."

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang said as he regretted not being there for them. He sounded determined when he said, "I'm gonna make a difference this time."

Then standing up in his spot, Aang, Chief Arnook, Katara and the three Avengers looked to distance as they were ready.

\\_|_/

Later that day, all those able to fight stood on the outer wall before the city. They looked to the horizon to see where the first strike would come from. The Water Tribe soldiers held spears and had their faces covered while they took their places along the wall. At the center of the wall were Aang on Appa's head, on Appa's left were Steve, Thor and Natasha and on his right were Sokka and Katara. Everyone on the wall had readied looks as they continued to wait. Aang saw something appearing on the horizon and saw something bright coming from it. His eyes widened as he recognized it. A flaming boulder flew straight at the wall. Everyone had shocked faces while Steve shouted, "Brace yourselves!"

The fireball hit the wall and sent screaming soldiers flying back. Everyone, from human, Asgardian to bison was covered in snow and ice. Ice fell from the impact spot on the wall. Another fireball came flying towards the Northern Tribe but this one was sent directly into the city and crashed into one of the water canals.

On the same Fire Navy ship, a hammer struck the lever and the catapult flung another fire ball. This one flew at an arc before striking the wall a few feet to the right of the first strike. Appa growled as the wall went up in smoke.

"We need to do something about those launchers!" Steve shouted. Aang looked down to the bison and shouted, "Yip, yip!"

Appa took off into the air right as both Nat and Steve ran up the bison's tail. Thor used the strap of Mjolnir to rapidly spin before taking off after them. Thor shot ahead of the bison while they went out to fight off the soldiers.

The Water Tribe soldiers helped survivors out of the craters. Up near the wall, Sokka groggily sat up before looking around for Katara. When he couldn't see any sign of her, he placed his hands next to his mouth and shouted, "Katara!"

He walked around to see if he could find her when a snow mound on his right exploded, startling him. A relieved Sokka ran over to help her out of it. Giving her a hand, she took it and he helped her up. They looked up to see two more fireballs fly over the wall.

\\_|_/

Appa growled as he flew closer to the Fire Nation ships. Aang gave a flick of the reins to go faster and Appa obliged with a flick of his tail. Captain America looked between them both and asked, "Do we have a plan to take on the ships?"

"We hit them hard and take out the catapults." Natasha responded. Then she added, "Then the Waterbenders should be able to get in close. Just like we agreed on."

"Then let's stop wasting time talking about it and get to doing it." Aang said as they came up to the Fire Nation ship. The ship launched two more fireballs from its deck.

Down on the deck a Firebender ignited one of the oil covered boulders and a man with a hammer struck the lever. The lever activated the mechanism and flung the fireball. Aang moved Appa in the middle of the path and raised his staff. Then with a yell he swatted the fireball away from him, his friends and the Northern Tribe. The fireball hit the glacier to the left of the wall. Looking back to his friends, Aang then said, "Someone take Appa's reins. I'll take it from here."

"Aang!" Natasha called out as he threw the reins in the air. Aang then jumped off the bison's head, divebombed and opened his glider in midfall. Nat slid down onto Appa's head and took hold of the reins while Steve shouted to Thor, "Go help him out!"

Thor nodded and moved to where he could drop down onto the ship. The Avatar avoided the fire blasts that came his way and landed on the deck and closed his glider with a spin. Then with a horizontal air wave, Aang sent the Firebenders flying back. While most of them were blown a few good feet back, a few of them were able to stay on their feet and came running back up with flames in their palms. Aang took a defensive stance, but he didn't have to worry as Thor came crashing down in front of the enemy soldiers. The Firebenders stopped in their tracks when suddenly, something came flying at one of them. A Firebender grunted when Mjolnir struck them in the face. Thor held out his hand to call Mjolnir back. It turned back to Thor right as the Firebender started to stand back up and grunted when he was struck in the back of the head. When his hammer had returned to his hand, Thor then spun Mjolnir really fast to build up a charge before bashing it against the ground. Aang jumped up as an electrical current spread through the metal floor of the ship. The remaining Firebenders cried out in agony as the electricity passed through their bodies. When Aang landed back on the ground he pointed to one of the catapults and shouted, "You take that one and I'll take care of the other one over here. Then we can move to the others."

Thor nodded and the two ran off to enact their plan. Aang ran over to a catapult where the working soldiers looked to him coming. They moved to stop him, but the Airbender jumped over their heads and landed on the arm of the catapult. The soldiers picked up a hammer and started to carefully make their way up the arm. The soldier closest to Aang readied his hammer and tried to hit Aang with it, but he was able to back away with a shout. On the last swing, Aang cartwheeled away before jumping to the part that connected the arm to the base. Landing in the middle he looked to both sides as two more soldiers with hammers came at him with their weapons raised. One soldier brought his hammer down and Aang stepped out of the way, causing the soldier to damage the catapult a little. Aang backed away with a yell before looking back to see the other soldier with his hammer above his head. Aang jumped out of the way and that soldier's hammer struck the catapult part. Both soldiers then tried to swing at the Airbender, but he jumped out of the way as their hammers landed. Then with a large strike against the machine from the Airbender, the air blast caused the entire thing to implode. All the Fire Nation soldiers shouted as they fell with it. Aang landed on the deck with his tongue slightly stuck out and turned his sights on his next target.

Thor rolled out of the way of a Firebender's blast before batting him away with Mjolnir. The Firebender yelled as he was sent flying across the deck. The Asgardian quickly made his way to the catapult and threw his hammer at it. Two Fire Nation soldiers tried to grab onto it, but it proved to be a mistake on their part as they were pulled backwards with the hammer. The hammer and the two soldiers collided with the catapult and slightly dented the space. Thor recalled Mjolnir before leaping high into the air and bringing the thunder down on the catapult. The entire machine busted apart, ending another of the invasion's weapons. Thor looked back as Aang made his way to the catapult at the front of the ship. Thor was about to join him when shots were fired behind him. Quickly spinning Mjolnir, Thor was able to knock away the incoming shots. His eyes widened at the sight of a small squadron of Hydra soldiers with their weapons raised. Thor glared at them before moving to engage.

Aang ran up to the last catapult and picked up a hammer. Looking at the tool/weapon in his hand and said to himself, "I hope Thor doesn't think ill of me when I do this."

Sticking the handle where the chains were connected, he smiled as his plan was working. The scream of a soldier made him jump off before the swing of another hammer came down upon him. After jumping off the catapult, Aang sent an air wave that not only knocked the soldier overboard, but also caused the catapult to fire. But instead of releasing its load at the enemy, the catapult's arm slammed into the deck of the ship and broke apart. The result of Aang's plan caused a large hole in the deck where the catapult hit it. Aang ran towards the next few catapults and seeing the nets so close together gave him an idea. With a mischievous smile, Aang picked up the chains and wound them together. He looked back to see some soldiers with hammers running at him and ran over to the catapult on his right. Just as he reached for the lever, the sound of a gun's cocking mechanism drew his attention. Aang looked really worried when he saw a Hydra soldier pointing his weapon at him. But Aang didn't have to worry for long as a strike from Mjolnir knocked the soldier down and with a mighty push from Thor sent the Fire Nation soldiers falling onto the entangled chain nets. Thor ran over to Aang and suggested, "Let's do this one together, shall we?"

"Fine by me." Aang said with a smirk. Both placing a hand on the lever, the two were quickly able to cause the catapult to release. Aang and Thor jumped off as the catapult ripped the other from the deck and flung it and the unfortunate soldiers across the deck. Both of them had large grins at the excellent job they were doing. But the second catapult crashed into the first one. Thor looked to the very last one and asked, "Do want the last one, or shall I take care of it?"

"I can take care of it." Aang assured his Asgardian friend. But his smile fell when he looked behind Thor. Pointing to the incoming soldiers he said, "But you might want to see if they need some company."

Thor looked back to see what Aang was meaning and saw a mixture of both Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers running towards them. Thor then said, "Then I will take care of them whilst you go and take out that last catapult."

"Right." Aang said with a nod. Aang and Thor parted ways for the time being. Thor gave a war cry as he leapt into the air with his hammer held high. He fell to the ground and brought Mjolnir against the ground. The soldiers were blown away by the attack. Thor would have turned but the sight of at least four soldiers, still a mixture of the two armies, rise back onto their feet and charged at him again. Thor then taunted, "Finally, a worthy challenge from the mixture of our foes."

With another yell he ran at them while spinning Mjolnir really fast. While that was going on, Aang quickly came upon the last catapult of the ship. But his lack of company didn't go unnoticed by one of the catapult's workers. The man gave a smirk as he readied his own special hammers.

From up in the air, Cap and Nat both saw what was going on. Guiding Appa close to the ship, both Natasha and Captain America were able to jump off and help their friends. Natasha ran to help Aang and Cap ran to aid Thor.

Thor was suddenly surrounded by even more soldiers and prepared to strike when a blur knocked a few of the soldiers back. Thor looked to see that Captain America was joining him. When he reached the Asgardian, Thor then joked, "Nice of you to drop by. I was beginning to think that me and Aang would have all the fun."

"Well, sorry for spoiling your good time." Cap said, taking the joke in full stride. Thor blocked and broke any weapons that came at him and the super soldier. Captain America was able to get around the soldiers and avoid enemy fire from the guns to retrieve his shield. He placed it in front of him as the Hydra soldiers opened fire once again. Cap was so busy trying to avoid being shot at from the front that he didn't notice a few Firebenders coming at him from behind. But as they let loose torrents of flame, Thor moved to where he and Captain America stood back to back while spinning Mjolnir to counter the flames. Without looking back he asked, "How do you want to handle this?"

"Wait till they need to take a breather!" Cap shouted as he continued to withstand the barrage of energy coming at him.

Elsewhere on the ship, Natasha was running up to help Aang when she spotted another making his way towards the Avatar. Aang had just raised a hammer to cripple the last catapult when he heard Nat shout to him, "Aang, watch out!"

He looked back to see a hammer connected by a chain flying towards him. Dropping the hammer while jumping out of the way, Aang landed on the side of the catapult before jumping out of the way of another hammer. Natasha came running up to the man and he did a spin while twisting the chains of his hammers. Nat had to duck underneath them to avoid any major injuries, and came in with a kick to the man's side. The man grunted as he fell backwards and Natasha stood up to run to Aang again.

"Aang!" Natasha said as she jumped onto the base of the catapult. He looked to her as she asked, "You alright?"

He was about to answer when he saw the hammers coming around the sides of the catapult. Both he and Nat strained when they were bound to the catapult with no way out. But before the worker could do any real damage, an angry Appa came in and grabbed him with an outstretched foot. The man screamed as Appa carried him to the side of the ship and dropped him into the ocean. Both Aang and Natasha were happy to see him as the former called out, "Appa!"

"Thanks for the rescue, big guy." Natasha commended as they ran up to him. They looked back to see that both Thor and Captain America were in a tight spot. But before they could move to help them, the ship started to rumble. They all looked about as a giant ice spike burst through the last catapult. More ice surrounded the ship as the Waterbenders had been able to get close while Aang and the three Avengers had been able to distract them. The soldiers that had been thrown overboard were stuck in the ice as the Waterbenders raised the ship out of the water, trapping it on an island of ice.

Captain America and Thor quickly noticed that the soldiers around them had been distracted and it gave them an opening. Throwing his shield into the air, Thor followed Cap's plan and threw Mjolnir up at the vibranium shield. When Mjolnir impacted the shield, it created a gong like sound that was followed by a shockwave. It caused all the soldiers around them to fall to the ground. Both Cap and Thor ran back to Appa while Aang and Natasha were already boarding as the ship started to tilt back. The two got into the saddle with a leap and Appa slammed his tail to the ground before taking off. As they flew around the ship, the way it looked brought memories back to Aang and Cap. Cap said to the Airbender, "Now we know how the ship down south got that way."

"Yeah." Aang said as he was thinking about how it all went in _that_ particular ship. Thor then said, "We need to be wary."

"Huh?" The three said before he pointed out behind the ship. All of their eyes grew wide at the sight of so many Fire Nation ships, no doubt carrying an enormous amount of soldiers of both Fire Nation and Hydra. Aang sounded really worried as he said, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Let's see what we can do about them." Captain America said before they flew to engage the enemy.

\\_|_/

Back behind the Water Tribe walls, a gathering of men assembled in an armory. Chief Arnook led the council as he turned to the volunteers and said, "Men, you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms."

A Northern Water Tribe soldier walked in wearing a set of armor that looked mostly identical to the ones that the soldiers outside the walls wore, except for the tall shoulder spikes. The Northern soldier had a look of confidence before the sound of laughter caused him to look to the source with a frown. It turned out to be Sokka laughing. The other Northern soldiers looked to see that the Southern teen covered his mouth but it was too late as all attention had been brought onto himself. The soldier in the Fire Nation uniform then questioned, "What's your problem?"

"Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that." Sokka pointed out as he still found the whole get up ridiculous. But the soldier then argued, "Of course they do. These happen to be real uniforms captured from actual Fire Navy soldiers."

"When? From like, a hundred years ago?" Sokka questioned as he crossed his arms. Chief Arnook was quick to answer, "Eighty-five."

Sokka stepped up and informed, "The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore." Then moving to the soldier he said, "The newer uniforms are more streamlined."

He lightly touched the shoulder spike and it made a boing sound as it twitched up and down. Feeling annoyed by Sokka, the Northern soldier looked to his chief and questioned, "How do we know we can trust this guy?" He got into Sokka's face as he added, "Such bold talk from a new recruit."

The two looked at each other with glares before Chief Arnook stepped in, "Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn." They looked to him with not so happy looks as he then said, "He is a capable warrior and I _value_ his input."

Sokka looked to Hahn with a smug look. Chief Arnook looked to his warriors and said, "Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer."

"His name is Zhao." Sokka was quick to say. They all looked to him as he gave a description while having a bored look, "Middle-aged, big sideburns, bigger temper."

"Sokka, I want you to everything you know to Hahn." Chief Arnook asked of him. Gesturing to Hahn he said, "He's leading this mission." Looking to his strike team's leader he ordered, "Hahn, show Sokka your respect. I expect nothing less from my future son-in-law."

He walked away while Hahn brushed some hair back before looking to a surprised Sokka. Pointing a finger at him, Sokka questioned, "Princess Yue is marrying you?"

"Yeah.' Hahn confirmed. Then he asked, "What of it?"

"Nothing." Sokka quickly said as he turned away. Then he added to make it sound okay, "Congratulations."

"So what can you tell us?" Hahn asked of Sokka. Sokka then started by saying, "Admiral Zhao's more than likely to be on the main flagship, but to be honest, the Fire Nation's not the only one to worry about."

"What do you mean?" One of the soldiers asked. Sokka then asked, "How much do you know about the Fire Nation's ally in Hydra."

"Not much, why?" Hahn said. Sokka then said, "If we're gonna be successful in this then we need Cap's help."

"You mean the guy in blue?" Hahn asked. Sokka nodded before becoming confused when Hahn said, "We don't need his input. We can deal with these 'Hydro' soldiers just like any Fire Navy ones."

"That kind of thinking will get you killed." Sokka warned, becoming angry. Sokka then said, "Chief Arnook will agree that we need every insight to fighting Hydra as well as the Fire Nation."

"Fine. See what he says." Hahn said with a shrug. Sokka huffed before walking away.

\\_|_/

The sun had nearly set as the day of battle had dragged on. Each of the Fire Nation ships had launched a simultaneous attack by firing a barrage of flaming rocks at the wall. The fireballs soared through the air and fell in spots close to the village, on the wall or in the water. Thor was able to summon a lightning bolt down on a few flaming rocks and destroyed them on impact. Those that he wasn't able to stop, the Waterbenders still within the walls were being led by Master Pakku as he shouted, "Stop those fireballs!"

One came right at them and the Waterbenders simultaneously made a push to create a pillar of ice that caught the fireball and stopped it from hitting the ground. The no longer flaming rock sizzled from its heat being put out from the ice.

\\_|_/

On the outskirts of Northern Tribe from the observation deck of the flagship, Admiral Zhao watched as a few more fireballs flew towards the Northern Tribe. General Iroh came up behind him and advised, "It's almost twilight, Admiral. As your military consultant, I must advise you to halt your attack."

The admiral looked back as Iroh then informed, "The Waterbenders draw their power from the moon, and it is nearly full tonight."

"I've seen that girl's waterbending in action." The Winter Soldier put it. He then added, "Though she wasn't as experienced at the time, it did seem a little stronger." He looked out to the walls of the Northern Tribe and admitted, "But now that they've been here for a few weeks…"

"I see your points." Admiral Zhao nodded as he did understand. Iroh then suggested, "You should wait and resume the attack at daybreak."

"Oh, I'm well aware of the moon problem." Zhao said as he turned back to look out the window. Then he assured them by mysteriously saying, "And I am working on a solution." He decided to humor them, "But for now, daybreak it is."

The orders were soon relayed between the ship and they soon dropped their anchors and stopped firing the fireballs. The Fire Nation ships sat in the water patiently as the day slowly turned into night.

\\_|_/

On the steps of the Northern Tribe palace, they noticed that the ships had ceased their assault. Princess Yue said with slight relief, "They've stopped firing."

Katara looked up to see Appa flying back and pointed as she shouted, "Guys!"

The flying bison landed on the ground not too far away from the girls and they ran down to meet them. Appa growled as he laid down from exhaustion and Aang slid down the bison's head with a groan. He sounded distressed when he touched the ground, "I can't do it."

The three Avengers looked down to him as he sighed and placed his hands on the sides of his head and repeated, "I can't do it."

"Aang…" Steve said as he hopped down from the bison's head. Kneeling down to the boy he asked, "You okay."

"What happened?" Katara asked as she and Princess Yue joined them. Aang sounded very distraught as he said, "Us and the Waterbenders must have taken out over a dozen Fire Navy ships., but there's just too many of them. We can't fight them all."

"This tactic is meant to overwhelm all forces." Steve said as he stood up and looked out to the waiting Fire Navy ships. He looked back to Aang and said, "They know that since he's not a fully realized Avatar, then this tactic works in our disadvantage."

"So what do we do?" Princess Yue asked. Thor then said, "I can go and see what exactly what it is we are dealing with."

"Me and Appa can join you in reconnaissance." Natasha suggested. Thor looked to the bison and said, "He unfortunately do no more. I shall go alone and use whatever cover is available to see just how much of the enemy we are dealing with."

"Then go and be careful." Steve said. Thor nodded before quickly spun his hammer around before taking off. Princess Yue looked to Steve and said, "My father wishes you to go and advise the men on the upcoming attack plan."

"I'll go at once." Steve said and departed. Princess Yue looked to Aang and asked, "What do you think we should, Avatar Aang?"

"I'm not sure. I'm completely stumped about this battle." Aang said as he leaned against Appa's leg. This seemed to affect Princess Yue as she said, "But you're the Avatar."

"I'm just one kid." Aang said as he hugged his knees and hid his face. Both Katara and Natasha kneeled down to him to comfort the boy.

\\_|_/

Steve soon came up to Chief Arnook as he was discussing some things with a small council. When the chief finished he turned to find Steve waiting for him. The chief said, "Yes, Captain Rogers?"

"Princess Yue informed me that you wanted me to help out with your strike mission." Steve told him. Chief Arnook nodded and said, "Yes, follow me."

As they walked through the streets to where the strike force was being assembled, Chief Arnook said, "Sokka had come to me asking if you could have given us insight on how to fight the Fire Nation's allies in Hydra. He thought that since you've been fighting against them longer than any of us."

"I'll do all that I can." Steve promised as he walked into the building while Chief Arnook walked back to the palace.

Once inside, Steve looked about to the Water Tribe warriors as they gathered before him. Both Sokka and another Water Tribe teen walked up to him and the super soldier then said, "All right, listen up. What you're gonna need to know is important."

The warriors gathered around to listen to what he had to say.

\\_|_/

Later that night at the main flagship, someone was preparing to disembark from the main vessel. Prince Zuko was currently creating a canoe that would take him from the Navy ships to the outer wall of the Water Tribe. He had discarded his Fire Nation soldier disguise for a simple white outfit to help him disappear in the frozen north. As he was finishing the final few preparations on the canoe, the door behind him opened to reveal both Iroh and the Winter Soldier. The two walked in and the latter quietly closed the door as Iroh said, "You're fishing for an octopus, my nephew."

Though the Winter Soldier was slightly confused by the general's words, he quickly understood the meaning to having a tight ship as Iroh continued, "You need a tightly woven net, or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape."

"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle." Prince Zuko said as he finished the preparations. The Winter Soldier then said, "You should at least take it to heart, my friend."

"I know." Prince Zuko said as he looked back to them before focusing again. General Iroh then said, "I'm sorry." Then he gave the reason, "I just nag you because," he was on the verge of tears as he said, "well, ever since I lost my son…"

"Uncle, you don't have to have to say it." Zuko said as his uncle turned to his left. Prince Zuko knew exactly what his uncle was meaning since that fateful day. But Iroh worked up the nerve to finish, "I think of you as my own."

"And I'm proud to call you my friend." The Winter Soldier said as he stepped up to the prince. Prince Zuko looked back to them with a saddened face and he said with a bow, "We'll meet again." He looked between them all and said, "All of us…"

General Iroh rushed up and wrapped his nephew in an embrace. The Winter Soldier smiled at the sad yet sweet moment. General Iroh broke away and the Winter Soldier held out his right hand. Prince Zuko grasped it as a sign of their respect and friendship. When he backed up he added, " _After_ I have the Avatar."

Then turning to the boat, he seated himself in it and started to lower the canoe. As a last minute nag, General Iroh walked to the opening and said, "Remember your breath of fire. It could save your life out there."

"I will." Prince Zuko said as he continued to lower himself down. Iroh kept going, "And put your hood up! Keep your ears warm!"

"I'll be fine!" Zuko reassured his uncle. Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier watched him go with mixed looks on their faces. When the prince had reached the water's surface, the Winter Soldier looked to the general and said, "Let's get back before we're missed."

Iroh nodded and the two departed from the room. Unaware to them both, a camera had been placed, and it was on.

\\_|_/

Back behind the walls, the Water Tribe warriors were preparing weapons. After having received the intel from Steve, the super soldier was currently working on a strategy to get the boys through without being caught. While he was off with Chief Arnook, Sokka, Hahn and a few other warriors were sharpening the blades of axes. Without looking from his work, Hahn said to Sokka, "Let me tell you something, Sokka," though he had incorrectly pronounced his name, "I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue is the finest, and she comes with the most perks."

Sokka's eyes widened from that one word and questioned, "Perks?! What does that mean?!"

"I mean, Yue's nice and everything," Hahn said to list off Yue's good qualities, but then it went the other way as he said, "but the points I'll gain with the chief aren't that bad, either."

"Princess Yue's wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you." Sokka bitterly said as he knew that this guy didn't care much for Yue. The thought of him marrying her mostly for those reasons made his blood boil. His words didn't go unnoticed by Steve who was just in the next room. This seemed to let know Hahn some of Sokka's feelings towards Yue and said, "Whoa, hang on. What do _you_ care?"

Sokka closed his eyes knowing that Hahn knew that he liked Princess Yue. But what Hahn said next really got Sokka, "You're just a simple rub from the Southern Tribe. What would you know about of the political complexities of _our_ life?" Then with a smirk he added, "No offense."

Sokka looked at him with a glare before yelling in anger as he tackled into Hahn. The warriors in the weapon's room looked at the two fighting while both Steve and Chief Arnook ran in to see what was going on. While Sokka caused him to roll on top of Hahn, he then said, "You're just a jerk without a soul. No offense."

He landed a punch to Hahn's face before the two started rolling again. The two rolled all the way to the door where their hair was soon messed up. Sokka looked down at Hahn in anger as Hahn had a grip on his hair. But the sudden grip of strong hands caused them to yelp when Steve pulled them apart. With a heave, the super soldier pushed the two away from each other. Chief Arnook came in between the two and said, "That's enough!" Turning to Sokka he said, "Sokka! You're off the mission."

Sokka couldn't believe it as he watched the chief walk away. His shock turned into anger and turned away as Hahn then said, "All right, fall in, men. Everybody listen to what I say, and we'll take out this Admiral Choi in no time."

"It's Admiral Zhao!" Sokka shouted after them as the Northern warriors walked away. With an angry glare he turned away, but it fell when he saw Steve standing in front of him. Steve then said, "I heard most of that."

"About how much?" Sokka asked, a little nervous. Steve then said, "Mostly the part how a certain princess didn't deserve a weasel." Taking a step closer he said, "And I hope you remember what we talked about at the war meeting."

"And I do." Sokka reassured. Then he explained, "I joined the special mission because I wanted to help out." Pointing to the departing men he said, "That was for Princess Yue, Hahn's not in it because he likes her, he's mostly marrying her for the perks of it."

Steve now understood why Sokka had flown into such a rage at Hahn. Steve smiled and said, "Well, I think it's nice of you to be defending a friend. And I'll tell you something. If anyone talked about the girl I liked that way and not because of love, I'd probably have gone off too."

"Really?" Sokka said with a slight grin. Steve nodded and he said, "And I'm pretty sure that she'd do the same for me."

\\_|_/

Back outside the Water Tribe, Prince Zuko quietly rowed the canoe past an iceberg of barking seals resting on it. He had put up a mouth cover and the hood not just for protection against the elements, but for concealment as well. He looked up at the tower on the wall to see if there was any movement that could jeopardize his mission. His canoe was hidden behind an iceberg just before a guard could spot it from a tower. When he was sure that it was safe to cross, Prince Zuko kept going towards the wall. He soon came to a spot that could hide his canoe and landed it. Pulling the small boat onto the ice, Prince Zuko ran up the ice to get a look at what obstacles lay in his path. When he looked up, he had to duck when he saw a flying man race back towards the wall. Prince Zuko waited until he was gone before moving again.

Looking up to the top of the wall, he saw a number of guards with spears making their way back from the destroyed section of the wall. The sound of seal turtles barking made Prince Zuko look back to see a few diving into a hole in the ice. Looking back to the wall, an idea was coming to mind. He looked back to the hole and quietly asked himself, "Where are they going?"

Walking over to the hole he looked down into the dark waters and said, "They're coming up for air somewhere."

Removing the mask from his mouth, Prince Zuko then took a deep breath of air. Then with a determined look, Prince Zuko jumped into the hole and swam to see where it would lead.

\\_|_/

Thor landed within the village limits before walking into the weapon's building. Steve and Sokka were just finishing a move when the prince of Asgard walked in. Steve asked his fellow Avenger, "What have you learned out there?"

"That there are many ships currently resting outside." Thor said as he leaned against a wall. But then he added, "But I was able to overhear from a few crewman-"

"You snuck onto one of their ships?" Steve questioned, both he and Sokka shocked to learn this. Thor nodded and said, "Yes, how else was I supposed to learn of the fleet's plan?" Then he reassured them, "And do not worry, I was careful."

"If you say so." Sokka said. Thor then said, "I do know that there was a last minute change into who will becoming ashore." He looked to Steve as he said, "They say that the Winter Soldier will be the one dealing with the Avengers while the combined armies deal with the Water Tribe."

"Bucky." Steve quietly said. Thor nodded and then said, "There was talk about some great plan to destroy the Waterbenders. I also learned that a 'Prince Zuko' apparently met his end at the hands of some pirates."

Both of these reports caused the two's eyes to grow wide. Though relieved, Sokka still asked, "Prince Zuko is gone."

"That is what I heard." Thor nodded. Then he asked, "Was he a major enemy?"

"Not as much as Admiral Zhao at the moment." Steve said. He then said, "He's got a lot more under his command than Prince Zuko had."

"We need to inform Chief Arnook about what's coming." Thor told him. The sound of footsteps caused them to look back through one of the doors.

\\_|_/

Back on the Fire Nation flagship, the Winter Soldier and General Iroh were walking down on of the halls when a Hydra soldier walked up. Looking to both the general and assassin he said, "The admiral would like to see the both of you, if you don't mind."

The two looked to each other before following the soldier to the admiral. When they reached the admiral's personal war room, the soldier stepped out of the way. Both men walked into the room to find the admiral sitting behind a table. Gesturing for them to sit he said, "Please, both of you, have a seat."

General Iroh and the Winter Soldier sat across the table and waited for what he had to say. Admiral Zhao then said, "I've just gotten a message from Johann Schmidt. He wants the Winter Soldier to go with the landing party when the ships reach the wall."

Though they were surprised by the news, neither of them showed it. General Iroh then asked, "Did he give any reasons why?"

"He said that the Winter Soldier was truly the only one to take on the Avengers while the rest of the invasion force take down the Water Tribe and the Avatar." The admiral told them. The Winter Soldier then asked, "And what of General Iroh? What will his role be?"

"General Iroh is mostly a consultant for this battle." Admiral Zhao reminded. He then said, "If he wishes to go into battle, I would gladly have him." But then he made what sounded like a jab, "But if he fears that he might have a repeat at what happened at Ba-Sing-Se, then he is free to sit out."

Though the general looked down from the sadness of being reminded of what happened. The Winter Soldier slightly guessed that it had to do something with his son. And though he didn't show it, he did become angry at the admiral's words. But deciding to play on the admiral's good side, he said, "Then I shall join the landing party."

"Excellent." Admiral Zhao nodded. Then he said, "Then you'd better get some rest. Dawn's not too much farther away."

Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier stood up to take their leave. As they walked back into the hall, the Winter Soldier's anger caused some of the programming in him to loosen up even more. General Iroh didn't look to him, but could feel a change in the young man's heart. He then said, "James."

The sound of his name caught the Winter Soldier off guard as he looked to his superior. Iroh looked to him and said, "I sense a change in you. You are not the same person when you were assigned to us. I can tell that you are much more than what you appear."

"Thank you, General Iroh." The Winter Soldier said with a respectful bow. General Iroh then said, "Hopefully, after this battle, we will continue our journey together."

"I hope so." The super assassin said.

\\_|_/

Back in the Northern Tribe, Aang, Katara, Natasha, Momo and Princess Yue looked up into the sky. While the girls and Momo were sitting and standing, Aang slouched on the wall. As they continued looking into the sky, Princess Yue looked to the moon and said, "The legends say that the moon was the very first Waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it would push and pull the tides, and learned how to do it themselves."

"I can see how that works." Natasha nodded. Katara then added, "I've always noticed how my waterbending is stronger at night."

"Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon." Yue said as she looked up at the orb in the sky again. Natasha then asked, "And I guess that strength grows when the moon is getting closer to full and weaker when it's almost a new."

Princess Yue nodded to this. Then she added, "And our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep the balance."

Her words got Aang thinking and his eyes widened. Then with a smile he said, "The spirits." Then standing up and looking up to the moon he said, "Maybe I can find them and get their help."

"How can you do that?" Princess Yue asked in confusion. Katara then explained, "The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world."

"Plus, he's been there before." Natasha added with a nod. Katara remembered before saying, "Aang could try to talk to them."

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle." Princess Yue said with much hope. But Aang then threw in his own idea, "Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy, amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation."

He looked between all three women to see that they did not have amused faces. Aang then assumed the first thing as he leaned against the railing, "Or wisdom. That's pretty good too."

"The only problem is the last time you got to the spirit world was by accident." Katara reminded. Natasha then grimaced as she put in, "And not to put salt on that wound, but it took you over twenty four hours to get me and the boys back."

Aang looked to the two with slight glares as Katara then asked, "How are you going to get there this time?"

"I have an idea." Princess Yue said, making them all look to her. Then with a motion of her hand she said, "Follow me."

She walked off into the palace with Aang with Momo on his shoulder, Katara and Natasha following after her. They soon came to the back of the palace and were walking between two lines of giant pots. Princess Yue stopped at a little door at the end of the line. Aang walked up and asked, "So, is this the way to the spirit world?"

"No. You'll have to get there on your own." The princess said with a small laugh. But then she assured him, "But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole."

She opened the door to let the group through. Momo jumped onto Katara's shoulders as Aang was the first to go in and was soon gazing at the most beautiful sight in all the North Pole. It was an oasis between two walls of ice, a waterfall right behind it and it was a sight to behold. Aang gasped as he could feel the spiritual energy flowing through the place and a smile came upon his face as he might be able to pull this off.

Aang laughed as he ran across the path of ice, jumped to the oasis and happily said, "I never thought I'd miss grass this much."

"You seem to be really enjoying it, kid." Natasha said with a smile as they all joined him. Katara could feel the air and said, "It's so warm here. How is that possible?"

"I assume this is done by the spirits?" Natasha asked Princess Yue. Katara removed her parka as Princess Yue explained, "It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land."

Momo chittered as he looked to the little pond in the middle of the oasis. He could see two koi fish swimming in a circle in the water. Thinking with his stomach, the lemur plunged his hand into the water to see if he could grab one. But when three shadows came up from behind, Momo looked back to see Katara, Princess Yue and Natasha looking at him with disapproving looks. Momo quickly scampered away while Aang walked over to where the wooden gate stood and said to the princess, "You were right, Yue. I can feel… something." Looking around he described the feeling, "It's so… tranquil."

Sitting down at the edge of the pond, Aang started to prepare himself for the journey. Sitting with his legs crossed he then placed his fists together and closed his eyes to start meditating.

\\_|_/

Down in the depths of the ice, the sound of seal turtles barking could be heard through out the entirety of an icy cavern. Emerging from a nearby hole in the ice was Prince Zuko. He breathed heavily while regaining his breath and climbed out of the hole. He shivered as he hugged himself before taking a deep breath and released a small fireball. The sound of barking from the seal turtles broke his concentration as he sat up, looked back and shouted, "Be quiet!"

The seal turtles became quiet from his harsh tone. Two gave a sad bark as Prince Zuko have small push to their heads. As he walked past them, they started to bark again as he left. Prince Zuko walked through the cave and came by another source of water. Looking up he saw a small waterfall that came out of the ice and figured that it could at least led somewhere into the city. Slowly climbing up into to rushing water, the Fire Nation prince soon crawled into the opening. He had a determined look as he went in deeper.

\\_|_/

Back in the weapon's room, Chief Arnook came before the three and asked, "There is something I need to ask of you." Looking to Thor and Steve he asked, "I ask that you be on the front lines should the Fire Nation and Hydra be able to land on our shores."

"You can count on us, sir." Steve nodded. Thor added to it and said, "We shall give them a fight like they've never seen before."

Chief Arnook smiled in appreciation to this. Then looking to Sokka he asked, "I didn't pull you off the mission regarding what happened earlier, but also for a more selfish reason."

This surprised Steve and Sokka, mostly the latter. Chief Arnook then said, "I have an equal special task in mind for you."

"What you want me to scrub the barracks." Sokka said, mostly joking. Steve groaned and Sokka stood at attention. Sokka listened closely as the chief said, "I want you to guard my daughter, Princess Yue."

Sokka gulped at this turn of events and said, "S-Sure. That shouldn't be too hard."

"Thank you." Chief Arnook said with a nod. Looking to the two Avengers he added, "All of you."

With that, he took his leave from the room. When they were sure he was gone, Sokka asked, "So are you gonna search for Bucky while fighting, Steve?"

"Your friend?" Thor asked the super soldier. Steve nodded and said, "Yeah. If the roles were reversed, he'd do the same for me."

"Are you sure?" Sokka asked, not fully convinced. Again, Steve nodded and confirmed it, "Thor and I will help the Waterbenders deal with the army, but when a chance presents itself, I'm going after him."

"Then I wish you luck." Thor said in support of his friend.

\\_|_/

Prince Zuko continued to struggle as he climbed up the tunnel as the current threatened to pull him back. His footing slipped, but he was able to keep a grip and climbed up. When he reached the top of the tunnel, Prince Zuko was able to free himself and swim up towards where he could get a breath of fresh air. He broke the surface of the water with a gasp and drew in deep breaths. Then taking a deep breath, Prince Zuko ducked his head under the water to see if there was another way out. He soon spotted a gap in the ice that looked big enough for him to squeeze through. Quickly taking a deep breath, Prince Zuko then swam for it and found it easier to swim through cause it was so spacious.

He saw a patch of light and swam right up to it, knowing that it could lead to the surface. But when he reached it, he found that the spot was frozen over. He tried to break through, but the ice above him wouldn't budge. A breath of air escaped his lips, and Prince Zuko became worried that he wouldn't be able to hold the rest for much longer. An idea quickly came to mind and he placed his palms and shoulders up against the ice. Bringing the heat through his palms, Prince Zuko was able to cause the ice above him to melt. He was able to melt a hole through the ice and when he felt his hands touch air, Prince Zuko pulled himself through the hole and laid against the sides of the tunnel he found himself in. Prince Zuko panted from the exertion and used another fire breath to warm himself.

Looking up into the sky he said, "Now for the hard part."

\\_|_/

Back at the oasis, Katara, Natasha and Princess Yue looked to Aang as he sat there in a meditative position. Princess Yue was confused as nothing was happening and asked, "Why is he just sitting there like that?"

"He's meditating." Katara explained, "Trying to cross over into the spirit world. It takes all his concentration."

Aang opened an eye as they continued talking with Natasha putting in, "I remember him telling us that on the end of his first spiritual journey, he found his body just like this."

"Is there any way we can help?" Princess Yue asked, wanting to be useful. Aang gave them all a purpose as he sounded annoyed, "How about some quiet!" He glanced back to the girls as he said, "Come on, guys. I can hear every word you're saying."

"Sorry, Aang." Natasha offered. The other two nodded in agreement.

Then taking a calming breath, Aang resumed looking forward. He looked down into the pond to see the two Koi fish swimming around each other. Aang watched as they continued to go in a circle, and as if he fell into a trance, he felt as if the two Koi fish looked a lot like the Yin and Yang symbol. And as their dance slowed, the two looked as if they completely transformed into that very symbol. As he looked into the symbol, Aang's eyes flashed as he started to cross over.

All three girls gasped as Aang's tattoo's glowed and sat perfectly still. Princess Yue sounded worried as she asked, "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Natasha reassured her. Katara smiled as she added, "He's crossing over into the spirit world. He'll be completely fine as long as we don't his body. That's his way back to the physical world."

"Maybe we should get some help." Yue said, worried that anything could happen and started to move back to the path. But Katara reassured her, "No, he's our friend." Looking to Aang's still body she said with a smile, "We're perfectly capable of protecting him."

"Well," A familiar voice shocked them. They all looked to the source as he said, "Aren't you good friends?"

"No." Katara said a she looked to the bridge on her left. Natasha readied herself as Prince Zuko walked over and said, "Yes." Then with a slight glare he said, "Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you."

"You're not gonna hurt us either way." Natasha said with her own glare. Then she added, "See this situation clearly, you're outnumbered two to one." She glanced to the princess and said, "No offense. But you should go and get to safety."

Princess Yue ran off while Katara and Natasha stood between Zuko and Aang. Prince Zuko prepared himself as he brought an arm back before jumping and unleashing a wave of fire from his right foot. He followed up by a fireball from his fist and then another from his other hand. Katara was able to bring up a shield of water to deflect all the fire attacks while Nat jumped over the Waterbender and rushed at Prince Zuko. The Fire Nation prince went on the defensive as the spy came in with a punch by blocking it. Then he followed up by doing a hand stand and twisted to where he created a ring of fire to force Natasha back. Natasha back flipped away before unleashing a one-two volley from her stingers at him. But Prince Zuko was quick to evade before using a boost of fire to jump over the shots and rushed towards the Waterbender, but more towards the Avatar.

Katara moved in his way and he reacted with a fire fist that she was able to counter with a wall of water. Prince Zuko had to swap from the offensive and defensive when Natasha came up from behind. When she tried to throw a roundhouse kick, Prince Zuko was able to duck before trying to use a low spin kick, with fire added of course. Natasha was able to jump back and avoid it, but when Katara used the water as a shield again, the force of the attack knocked her backwards into one of the posts. As she was momentarily stunned, Prince Zuko had to contend with the S.H.I.E.L.D. spy as she rushed back up at him. Her adversary kept throwing punches at him, but he was able to put his martial arts training without firebending to good use. He wasn't able to fully stop the blows, but Prince Zuko was able to at least get a few shots back. When she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm, he was able to force her back with a kick of fire. Natasha had to quickly back away to avoid getting burned, but it gave Prince Zuko an opportunity that he quickly took advantage of.

But as he ran for the Avatar, Katara was once again up on her feet and pushed a large blast of water at him. Prince Zuko hollered as he was knocked through the air by the water blast. When he landed on the ground, he looked up and observed, "I see you've been learning some new tricks." Natasha ran back to Katara as he stood back up and said, "But I didn't come this far to lose to either of you."

Then with a quick turn, he sent a double fisted fireball at them. Katara once again raised a water wall to protect them, and made the fire blast disperse. Katara then launched another stream of water towards Zuko and it knocked him back. The Fire Nation Prince stumbled back into a large puddle of water, but Katara took advantage of this by freezing the water till it touched his feet. Then with a fierce look in her eye, Katara waved her arms in a circle to create a sphere of water to completely surround Prince Zuko. Then with a few more circular motions of her arms, Katara made the sphere freeze. Water particles slowly went by the girls as a triumphant smirk came unto Katara's face.

"You sure have come a long way, Katara." Natasha complimented. Katara smiled as she said, "Thanks."

Katara kept her stance in case Prince Zuko made another move. But the prince wasn't done as he said from inside the sphere, "You little peasant. You've found a master haven't you? And you think that just because an Avenger's here, that it'll be easier. Think again." The glow continued glowing as he said, "A friend of mine fought against you, Romanoff, and he was able to at least give me some pointers."

Prince Zuko then allowed his firebending to heat up from within the sphere. Steam surrounded it as the glow inside intensified. Then with a yell Prince Zuko caused it to explode and he jumped out from the ice. Then with a fireball, he weaved past both stinger shots and waves of fire while firing shots of his own. When he came closer and closer, Prince Zuko brought a flaming hand to where it made the girls move out of the way. He raised his hand brought down a flaming slash that was quickly dispelled by a water block from Katara. When he tried it again, his hand was knocked away from a kick from Natasha. He turned and used a backwards kick to make them back up from the flames, but it was a distraction as Katara followed up with a wave of water. But Prince Zuko was able to get around them and reached to grab the back of the unconscious Aang's shirt.

Luckily, Natasha was able to knock the hand away with a kick and punched him in the face. Prince Zuko yelled in pain as he stumbled back, but it left him open to an attack from Katara as she sent a blast of water at him. Prince Zuko was knocked all the way to the ice wall. Natasha stepped back to allow Katara take the wheel on this one. With a few circular motions of her arms, Katara was able to make a few waves before unleashing a wave at him. Prince Zuko was shoved up the ice wall and couldn't move as the water kept rushing past him. But Katara didn't let it go on for too long as she froze him against the ice wall. Prince Zuko didn't move as he knew he couldn't beat the Waterbender right know, but he could be patient.

Natasha looked over Katara's handy work and said, "No offense, but I liked your last work of art a lot better."

"None taken." Katara said as she relaxed her stance. She took deep breaths as she said, "I wanted to finish that fight quick."

"When the battle ends, we'll figure out something do with Zuko." Nat said as she looked up to the beaten prince.

\\_|_/

It was near dawn over the North Pole as the sun started to rise. As she ran through the halls of the palace, Princess Yue was fearful since the city had been breached by the Fire Nation. A relieved smile appeared on her face as she saw Sokka, Steve and Thor standing beside Appa. Running up to them she said, "Help! Please, help!"

"What's wrong?" Sokka said, running up to meet her. Steve and Thor weren't too far behind as she said, "Katara, Natasha and Aang are being attacked by a Firebender!"

"A Firebender?" Steve questioned and looked to Thor. The Asgardian questioned as well, "But we had not been alerted to any attempts from the enemy fleet? I fail to see how this could have happened."

"What did the Firebender look like?" Steve asked of the princess. Princess Yue then said, "His garments were white, not like most soldiers," this slightly confused them before she said, "but he did have a ponytail and a scar of the left side of his face."

"Zuko!" Sokka and Steve gasped. Thor then asked, "This is that prince that I heard was deceased."

"Not so deceased as we thought." Steve said. Sokka then said, "We'd best hurry."

He, Sokka and Princess Yue quickly boarded Appa's saddle while Thor quickly spun Mjolnir around. Once Appa had taken off, so did Thor.

\\_|_/

On the wall, Master Pakku watched over the Fire Nation fleet to see what move they would try to make. The sun rose over the land as they waited to see what this day would bring.

\\_|_/

On the Fire Nation flagship, Admiral Zhao sounded relieved and thrilled as he said, "It's daybreak at last." General Iroh stood behind him as the Admiral then declared, "Let's write history. For the glory of the Fire Nation and Hydra."

A dark smile came upon the Admiral's face as he wanted to be the one to pull it off.

\\_|_/

At the oasis, the sunlight was reaching behind the palace. As soon as Prince Zuko could feel its warming rays, he angrily growls as his head looks up. Both Katara and Natasha look up with a gasp as he used the heat from a breath from his nose to melt his prison. He dropped down into the grass before running up to them and letting loose a huge blast of fire. Katara quickly reacted by raising a huge wall of water between her, Natasha and the blast, but the force was enough to knock them both into the wooden pillar. Both girl's heads hit the back post and the blacked out from it. Prince Zuko walked over and grasped the back of Aang's shirt. He was impressed as he looked to Katara and said, "You rise with the moon." But thought himself the better of the fight as he said, "I rise with the sun."

Then looking to the unconscious spy he said, "And you have skills of your own. But my experience with the Winter Soldier made me your better."

Then without another word, Prince Zuko carried Aang away.

\\_|_/

At the wall at the ocean, a Fire Nation ship broke through the ice. When it was further in, the ship lowered the ramp to allow the soldiers to storm in. Both soldiers of the Fire Nation and Hydra yelled as they ran forward. That ship was soon by another and it did the same as the first.

\\_|_/

On the flagship, Admiral Zhao looked at the upcoming battle and was assured of his victory as he said to Iroh, "The Water Tribe can try to resist the inevitable, but even with the help of the Avengers their city will fall today."

General Iroh looked at the same scene but was his thoughts were to two others soon to be in the midst of battle.

\\_|_/

Back at the oasis, Katara was still unconscious when Natasha kneeled down to her and shook her shoulder, "Katara, wake up! We have a problem!"

The Waterbender's eyes snapped open as she looked to where the Airbender was supposed to be, but found him missing. Even though it was futile, Katara stood up and shouted, "Aang!"

"He can't hear all the way in the spirit world." Natasha regrettable said as she shook her head. Momo chittered as he looked about for his friend. The sound of a growling bison made them look up to see Appa coming down. Sokka asked as the bison landed, "What happened? Where's Zuko?"

"And where's Aang?" Steve asked as he looked about. Katara shook her head and said, "He took Aang. He took him right out from under us."

"We can't blame ourselves." Natasha said to comfort her, "Zuko caught us off guard by a surprise attack."

"Where di they go?" Sokka asked as they looked to a sad looking Momo. Little did they know at the moment, but there was a path that led from the oasis up the glacier walls. The path stopped before a rolling blizzard that covered a good deal of the North Pole.

\\_|_/

Trudging through the snow with an out of body Aang on his back. Prince Zuko fought against the oncoming snow storm as he tried to think of a way to get Aang back to the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation prince and the Avatar disappeared into the raging snowstorm as the snow covered up their tracks.

\\_|_/

 **Author's Note:** And this chapter is finally done. Only one more chapter of Book One and then the ending titles. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter done soon. And I'll do my best to make the battle for the Northern Water Tribe a good one as well as Aang's journey through the Spirit World. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	20. Chapter 20: Siege of the North Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **A/N:** And here is the second part of Siege of the North. I'm going to make sure that there's enough of Avenger action along in it, but hopefully I can do it right. And I do apologize for the long flashbacks, but I did feel that they were necessary and they're in the order of the previous episodes.

x

 **Katara:** Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

 **Katara:** Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

 **Katara:** Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

 **Katara:** A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

 **Katara:** And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great **,** hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

 **Katara:** But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

 **Nickelodeon and Marvel**

 **The Avenging Avatar**

x

 **Avatar Roku:** _Previously, on Avenging Avatar…_

 _Now longer angry, Haybi reverted to his true form of the giant black and white panda as he turned to walk out of the village._

 _Avatar Roku said, "The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways…" Then he made it sound cryptic, "for now."_

 _Aang thought about when he truly needed Roku and then said, "But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?"_

" _I am a part of you." Avatar Roku said, thinking of how they are connected in the Avatar cycle. He then told him, "When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way."_

 _The Red Skull looked to the Colonel and said, "I am giving you at least forty Hydra soldiers. The rest will need to be taken to other locations along the Earth Kingdom."_

" _It seems I've been promoted to Admiral." Zhao said with interest as he read a scroll from Fire Lord Ozai. Looking back to the colonel he had a smirk as he said, "My request is now an order."_

 _Natasha looked to Aang and Steve before she asked, "How many Hydra soldiers were there with the archers?"_

" _Only a small group." Aang recalled. He then remembered, "We didn't get an exact number at the time. But there were a lot more of them when we had been captured and held prisoner by Zhao."_

" _There it is!" An excited Aang shouted as they neared the Northern Water Tribe._

" _In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending." Master Pakku sternly reveals. Katara looked to the old man with trembling eyes as she was infuriated by the news._

 _After a quick fight between them, Master Pakku looks down to see Katara's necklace lying there. Picking it up, memories flooded back to him as he said, "This is my necklace."_

 _After gaining a newfound bond with Master Pakku, Aang and Katara both had smiles as they started to learn under waterbending Master Pakku._

" _And you are sure that you have seen many soldiers from Hydra." Thor asks his friends. Natasha nods and said, "It seems like Hydra's nearing completion of their teleportation machine."_

" _Which means that they'll be bringing their war machines to this world soon." Steve added._

" _I assume that you have everything ready?" Johann Schmidt asks Admiral Zhao as the fleet starts the launch. Zhao nods and says, "My fleet is ready."_

" _Then I will be taking my leave." The Red Skull informs before vanishing into a portal. Both General Iroh and the Winter Soldier stand behind Zhao as orders, "Set a course for the Northern Water Tribe."_

 _Drifting behind the main flagship, many other Fire Navy ships followed after to begin the invasion._

 _Master Pakku walked over to his first female pupil and acknowledged, "Katara, you've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained." Katara smiled as he complemented, "You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything."_

 _It was then that they noticed black flakes started to fall with the regular snow. Pointing to the black flecks he said, "Hey, look."_

" _What's happening?" Princess Yue asked in confusion while lots of it started to rain down. Memories, bad ones, ran through Sokka's head as he remembered, "Oh, no."_

" _This will truly be one for the history books, my friends." Zhao seemed both confident and a little smug of his plans as he said, "Just think, centuries from now people will study the great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization."_

 _Iroh then turned to the Firebender and said, "We'll be landing soon. Do you have a plan?"_

 _The Winter Soldier said, "I apologize that you'll be going on the hunt for the Avatar alone."_

" _You have your mission, and I have mine." Prince Zuko said and placed the mask back into place._

 _Chief Arnook moved between Princess Yue and Master Pakku. He then addressed everyone, "The day we have feared for so long has arrived." The chief delivered the bad news, "The Fire Nation and their allies of Hydra are on our doorstep."_

" _I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang said as he regretted not being there for them. He sounded determined when he said, "I'm gonna make a difference this time."_

 _Aang ran up to the last catapult and picked up a hammer. Looking at the tool/weapon in his hand and said to himself, "I hope Thor doesn't think ill of me when I do this."_

 _All of their eyes grew wide at the sight of so many Fire Nation ships, no doubt carrying an enormous amount of soldiers of both Fire Nation and Hydra. Aang sounded really worried as he said, "You've got to be kidding me."_

 _He walked away while Hahn brushed some hair back before looking to a surprised Sokka. Pointing a finger at him, Sokka questioned, "Princess Yue is marrying you?"_

 _General Iroh came up behind him and advised, "It's almost twilight, Admiral. As your military consultant, I must advise you to halt your attack."_

 _The admiral looked back as Iroh then informed, "The Waterbenders draw their power from the moon, and it is nearly full tonight."_

" _Oh, I'm well aware of the moon problem." Zhao said as he turned back to look out the window. Then he assured them by mysteriously saying, "And I am working on a solution." He decided to humor them, "But for now, daybreak it is."_

" _I'm not sure. I'm completely stumped about this battle." Aang said as he leaned against Appa's leg. This seemed to affect Princess Yue as she said, "But you're the Avatar."_

" _I'm just one kid." Aang said as he hugged his knees and hid his face. Both Katara and Natasha kneeled down to him to comfort the boy._

 _General Iroh then said, "I'm sorry." Then he gave the reason, "I just nag you because," he was on the verge of tears as he said, "well, ever since I lost my son…"_

 _The Winter Soldier looked to the general and said, "Let's get back before we're missed."_

 _Chief Arnook came in between the two and said, "That's enough!" Turning to Sokka he said, "Sokka! You're off the mission."_

 _Steve then said, "I heard most of that."_

" _About how much?" Sokka asked, a little nervous. Steve then said, "Mostly the part how a certain princess didn't deserve a weasel." Taking a step closer he said, "And I hope you remember what we talked about at the war meeting."_

" _And I do." Sokka reassured. Then he explained, "I joined the special mission because I wanted to help out." Pointing to the departing men he said, "That was for Princess Yue, Hahn's not in it because he likes her, he's mostly marrying her for the perks of it."_

 _Removing the mask from his mouth, Prince Zuko then took a deep breath of air. Then with a determined look, Prince Zuko jumped into the hole and swam to see where it would lead._

" _We need to inform Chief Arnook about what's coming." Thor told him. The sound of footsteps caused them to look back through one of the doors._

 _General Iroh and the Winter Soldier sat across the table and waited for what the admiral had to say. Admiral Zhao then said, "I've just gotten a message from Johann Schmidt. He wants the Winter Soldier to go with the landing party when the ships reach the wall."_

 _Iroh looked to him and said, "I sense a change in you. You are not the same person when you were assigned to us. I can tell that you are much more than what you appear."_

" _Thank you, General Iroh." The Winter Soldier said with a respectful bow. General Iroh then said, "Hopefully, after this battle, we will continue our journey together."_

" _I hope so." The super assassin said._

 _Princess Yue looked to the moon and said, "The legends say that the moon was the very first Waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it would push and pull the tides, and learned how to do it themselves."_

" _I can see how that works." Natasha nodded. Katara then added, "I've always noticed how my waterbending is stronger at night."_

" _Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon." Yue said as she looked up at the orb in the sky again. Natasha then asked, "And I guess that strength grows when the moon is getting closer to full and weaker when it's almost a new."_

 _Princess Yue nodded to this. Then she added, "And our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep the balance."_

 _Her words got Aang thinking and his eyes widened. Then with a smile he said, "The spirits." Then standing up and looking up to the moon he said, "Maybe I can find them and get their help."_

 _Katara then explained, "The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world."_

" _Plus, he's been there before." Natasha added with a nod. Katara remembered before saying, "Aang could try to talk to them."_

" _Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle." Princess Yue said with much hope. But Aang then threw in his own idea, "Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy, amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation."_

 _He looked between all three women to see that they did not have amused faces. Aang then assumed the first thing as he leaned against the railing, "Or wisdom. That's pretty good too."_

 _Katara then asked, "How are you going to get there this time?"_

" _I have an idea." Princess Yue said, making them all look to her. Then with a motion of her hand she said, "Follow me."_

 _Sitting down at the edge of the pond, Aang started to prepare himself for the journey. Sitting with his legs crossed he then placed his fists together and closed his eyes to start meditating._

 _Back in the weapon's room, Chief Arnook came before the three and asked, "There is something I need to ask of you." Looking to Thor and Steve he asked, "I ask that you be on the front lines should the Fire Nation and Hydra be able to land on our shores."_

" _You can count on us, sir." Steve nodded. Thor added to it and said, "We shall give them a fight like they've never seen before."_

 _Chief Arnook smiled in appreciation to this. Then looking to Sokka he asked, "I didn't pull you off the mission regarding what happened earlier, but also for a more selfish reason."_

 _This surprised Steve and Sokka, mostly the latter. Chief Arnook then said, "I have an equal special task in mind for you."_

" _What you want me to scrub the barracks." Sokka said, mostly joking. Steve groaned and Sokka stood at attention. Sokka listened closely as the chief said, "I want you to guard my daughter, Princess Yue."_

 _Sokka asked, "So are you gonna search for Bucky while fighting, Steve?"_

" _Your friend?" Thor asked the super soldier. Steve nodded and said, "Yeah. If the roles were reversed, he'd do the same for me."_

" _Are you sure?" Sokka asked, not fully convinced. Again, Steve nodded and confirmed it, "Thor and I will help the Waterbenders deal with the army, but when a chance presents itself, I'm going after him."_

" _Then I wish you luck." Thor said in support of his friend._

 _Prince Zuko panted from the exertion and used another fire breath to warm himself._

 _Looking up into the sky he said, "Now for the hard part."_

 _Princess Yue was confused as nothing was happening and asked, "Why is he just sitting there like that?"_

" _He's meditating." Katara explained, "Trying to cross over into the spirit world. It takes all his concentration."_

 _Aang opened an eye as they continued talking with Natasha putting in, "I remember him telling us that on the end of his first spiritual journey, he found his body just like this."_

" _Is there any way we can help?" Princess Yue asked, wanting to be useful. Aang gave them all a purpose as he sounded annoyed, "How about some quiet!" He glanced back to the girls as he said, "Come on, guys. I can hear every word you're saying."_

 _Then taking a calming breath, Aang resumed looking forward. He looked down into the pond to see the two Koi fish swimming around each other. Aang watched as they continued to go in a circle, and as if he fell into a trance, he felt as if the two Koi fish looked a lot like the Yin and Yang symbol. And as their dance slowed, the two looked as if they completely transformed into that very symbol. As he looked into the symbol, Aang's eyes flashed as he started to cross over._

" _Well," A familiar voice shocked them. They all looked to the source as he said, "Aren't you good friends?"_

" _No." Katara said a she looked to the bridge on her left. Natasha readied herself as Prince Zuko walked over and said, "Yes." Then with a slight glare he said, "Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you."_

 _Princess Yue said, "Katara, Natasha and Aang are being attacked by a Firebender!"_

" _A Firebender?" Steve questioned and looked to Thor. The Asgardian questioned as well, "But we had not been alerted to any attempts from the enemy fleet? I fail to see how this could have happened."_

" _What did the Firebender look like?" Steve asked of the princess. Princess Yue then said, "His garments were white, not like most soldiers," this slightly confused them before she said, "but he did have a ponytail and a scar of the left side of his face."_

" _Zuko!" Sokka and Steve gasped. Thor then asked, "This is that prince that I heard was deceased."_

" _Not so deceased as we thought." Steve said. Sokka then said, "We'd best hurry."_

 _He, Sokka and Princess Yue quickly boarded Appa's saddle while Thor quickly spun Mjolnir around. Once Appa had taken off, so did Thor._

 _The sun rose over the land as they waited to see what this day would bring._

 _As the sun continued to rise, Admiral Zhao said, "It's daybreak at last." General Iroh stood behind him as the Admiral then declared, "Let's write history. For the glory of the Fire Nation and Hydra."_

 _Prince Zuko could feel its warming rays, he angrily growls as his head looks up. Both Katara and Natasha look up with a gasp as he used the heat from a breath from his nose to melt his prison. He dropped down into the grass before running up to them and letting loose a huge blast of fire. Katara quickly reacted by raising a huge wall of water between her, Natasha and the blast, but the force was enough to knock them both into the wooden pillar. Both girl's heads hit the back post and the blacked out from it. Prince Zuko walked over and grasped the back of Aang's shirt. He was impressed as he looked to Katara and said, "You rise with the moon." But thought himself the better of the fight as he said, "I rise with the sun."_

 _Then looking to the unconscious spy he said, "And you have skills of your own. But my experience with the Winter Soldier made me your better."_

 _Then without another word, Prince Zuko carried Aang away._

 _At the wall at the ocean, a Fire Nation ship broke through the ice. When it was further in, the ship lowered the ramp to allow the soldiers to storm in. Both soldiers of the Fire Nation and Hydra yelled as they ran forward. That ship was soon by another and it did the same as the first._

 _Admiral Zhao looked at the upcoming battle and was assured of his victory as he said to Iroh, "The Water Tribe can try to resist the inevitable, but even with the help of the Avengers their city will fall today."_

 _General Iroh looked at the same scene but was his thoughts were to two others soon to be in the midst of battle._

 _Katara stood up and shouted, "Aang!"_

" _He can't hear you all the way in the spirit world." Natasha regrettable said as she shook her head. Momo chittered as he looked about for his friend. The sound of a growling bison made them look up to see Appa coming down. Sokka asked as the bison landed, "What happened? Where's Zuko?"_

" _And where's Aang?" Steve asked as he looked about. Katara shook her head and said, "He took Aang. He took him right out from under us."_

" _We can't blame ourselves." Natasha said to comfort her, "Zuko caught us off guard by a surprise attack."_

" _Where did they go?" Sokka asked as they looked to a sad looking Momo. Little did they know at the moment, but there was a path that led from the oasis up the glacier walls. The path stopped before a rolling blizzard that covered a good deal of the North Pole._

 _Trudging through the snow with an out of body Aang on his back. Prince Zuko fought against the oncoming snow storm as he tried to think of a way to get Aang back to the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation prince and the Avatar disappeared into the raging snowstorm as the snow covered up their tracks._

\\_|_/

 **Book One: Water**

 **Chapter Twenty: Siege of the North Part 2- The Spirit World**

It was a bad day for the Northern Water Tribe as the Fire Nation ships still out in the ocean continued to shoot fireballs towards the city. And to make things worse, soldiers of both the Fire Nation and Hydra had breached the main wall and swarmed across the icy plains. The four fireballs landed amongst the city, creating damage as the populace ran to safety. But invasion itself wasn't the worse thing to happen on this day, for behind the Water Tribe palace behind the city, an equally worse situation was going down. Appa stood by the left bridge while Katara fell to her knees in sadness. The two Koi fish circled each other in the pond and looked as if they could feel a bad omen on the rise. The others looked to her with tearful and worried eyes as she said, "I can't believe I lost him."

"You mean, we lost him." Natasha said and kneeled down to her while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sokka then comforted them, "You both did everything you could."

"And we can still do everything we can to find them." Steve said, knowing that getting Aang back was important. Thor was in agreement and said, "Aye, we must do something to rescue our friend from the Fire Prince and put an end to this battle."

"Zuko can't have gotten too far." Sokka deduced as he and Yue walked towards Appa. Katara looked back to him as she knew that they had a point. He sounded determined as he added, "We'll find him." He reassured his sister, "Aang's gonna be okay."

"Could Prince Zuko have taken him up that way?" Thor questioned and pointed Mjolnir to the top of the walls. Princess Yue shrugged and said, "I suppose he could have."

"Though I'm a little surprised." Thor said as he tried to think about it, "Judging he too is from the Fire Nation, he wouldn't try to go back to the fleet."

"Actually," Steve recalled, "Prince Zuko and Admiral Zhao aren't exactly good friends, considering that both Zuko and Bucky tried to rescue/take us for themselves. So it's also possible that Zhao's doing the invasion by his own command."

"Look, this is all fascinating." Sokka said as he was started to grow impatient. Then he said, "But if we're going to find Aang, we need to go now."

"Okay." Katara said as she stood up. Princess Yue looked to the two Avengers and asked, "But what about the battle? My father needs you to help deal with the Fire Nation and Hydra."

"Oh, right." Thor said as he remembered there promise to Chief Arnook. Steve too remembered and then said, "The majority of you will go and see if you can find Zuko and Aang. Thor and I will help the Water Tribe fend off the enemy."

"Just until Aang returns from the Spirit World." Katara added. This shocked Steve and he asked, "Aang's gone back into the Spirit World?"

"The Spirit World?" Thor asked as he was confused. Natasha then explained, "It's a higher plane of existence where souls and other things reside."

"I do understand that part," Thor said, "But why did friend Aang have to venture there."

"He's trying to see if the Moon and Ocean spirits can help us win this battle." Natasha explained the reason. Then she begrudgingly added, "And when he crossed over, that's when we were jumped by Prince Zuko."

"Hopefully, Aang can take care of himself while he's over there." Sokka said. Climbing onto Appa he said, "But for right now, we need to find out where his body and Prince Zuko have gone."

Katara put on her parka and they all looked to see Momo sitting on the ground. The flying lemur sadly chittered as he sat where Aang once was. Katara then said, "It's all right. You stay here, Momo. In case Aang comes back."

"Or when we bring Aang back." Natasha promised while petting the lemur's head. Her, Katara and Princess Yue climbed into the saddle and sat down. Nat looked to the two Avengers and said, "Stay safe, boys. We'll try to be back soon."

"Same with you Nat." Steve nodded. With a flick of the reins, Sokka said, "Yip, yip!"

With a growl, Appa slammed his tail to the ground and took off into the air. Sokka turned the flying bison around to fly over the oasis and out into the blizzard beyond the Northern Water Tribe. The wind whistled as snow blew past them.

\\_|_/

Down in the oasis, Thor and Steve watched as the bison disappeared from sight. Thor then said, "Are you ready, my friend?"

"Ready when you are." Steve nodded and pulled his helmet on. Quickly spinning Mjolnir with his left hand, Thor grabbed Steve's arm before having Mjolnir fly them to the battlefield.

\\_|_/

The trail in the snow started to disappear from the blizzard as Prince Zuko kept trudging onward. He kept a good grip on the glowing Aang as he walked deep into the frozen tundra. Prince Zuko only looked ahead as he moved forward. Aang's body was completely unresponsive as his spirit finished crossing over.

\\_|_/

Spirit World

Aang opened his eyes and found himself in an entirely new setting. He still saw in the lotus position with his fists together. He blinked as he found himself in some kind of swamp and looked around. Standing over him was some kind of spirit gate while behind him was a thicket of bamboo. The sound of flapping caused him to look up and see a bird flapping about. Aang stood up and started to look around. He came to a spot in the swamp before looking to his left. The Avatar spotted a snow monkey spirit wearing a white necklace and brown robes sitting under a rock formation with a tree on top of it. The snow monkey spirit was sitting in the lotus position with his hands folded, and repeating 'Om' as Aang came running up to him. Then being polite as he can, "Hello?" When he didn't move, Aang then said, "I'm sorry to disturb you. But I just really need to find the moon and the ocean spirits."

"Go away." The snow monkey spirit said, clearly wanting to be left alone. A figure appeared behind one of the swamp trees as Aang hadn't moved. The snow monkey spirit opened an eye and noticed that Aang hadn't moved and asked, "You're still here."

"Yes," Aang said, getting impatient with the spirit, "I need-"

But the snow monkey spirit cut him off as he tried to meditate again with a loud, "Om!"

"I'm afraid he can't help you." A feminine voice said from behind Aang. He looked back to see a woman with red curly hair held up. She also wore a green dress that Aang had never seen the design before. The woman then shrugged and said, "Plus, he's not one for helping either."

"Um, hello." Aang said with a respectful bow. The woman then said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Avatar Aang."

"If you don't mind me asking," Aang asked, "who are you?"

"I am Frigga. The mother of Thor and Loki." The woman introduced. Then she said, "And though my time in the physical world has ended, I could still see you coming here for guidance."

"You're Thor's mother?" Aang asked out of curiosity. She nodded and said, "I heard that you were looking for a couple of spirits. Perhaps I can help you."

"Great! So how do we start?" Aang asked, really wanting to help the Northern Water Tribe. Frigga then said, "If you'll follow me."

Frigga walked along a log and Aang was quick to follow behind. The snow monkey spirit peeked before shaking his head and muttering, "Ah, finally."

As they continued to walk, Aang asked, "Is Loki in the Spirit World too?"

Frigga didn't answer right away as she had a knowing smile. But she still answered him, "If he is, I'm not sure where he would be. He was never one for staying in one place." She chuckled as he said, "After all, he is the God of Mischief."

"I did hear about that." Aang nodded with a slight smile of his own. Frigga then said, "Now I wish to ask you a question."

"Okay." Aang nodded. Frigga then asked, "When coming to the Spirit World, how exactly did you plan to find the Moon and Ocean Spirits?"

The question caused Aang to stop and think about it. Frigga also stopped and turned to the boy. Aang sighed and said, "I guess I didn't. Not all the way through."

"Fear not, Aang." Frigga said as she stepped to the boy. He looked her in the eye as she said, "For the answer might just be in front of you."

This slightly confused Aang until he looked to the water to his left. Turning, he watched as the water rippled before turning into the spirit of Avatar Roku. The reflection smiled as he said, "Hello, Aang."

"Roku." Aang said in surprise. Then he finally got what Frigga was saying as he looked back. Then he said, "Sometimes, the answers are right in front of me. Or within."

"Got it in one." Frigga said with a smile.

\\_|_/

Physical World

The snowstorm continued to rage as Zuko continued on aimlessly across the tundra. He took in a deep breath while trudging on. But his next step turned out to be a mistake as he stepped on a patch of weak ice. The ice underneath his foot started to crack and spread. Prince Zuko gasped before sprinting away from the crumbling ice. The crumbling ice seemed to be able to keep up with Zuko mostly because of the load on his back. He continued running until he was sure that he could jump to safety. Taking a leap of faith, Prince Zuko literally leaped, but he fell into the snow while losing his grip on the Avatar. Both he and Aang's unconscious body tumbled into the snow. After taking a quick breather, Prince Zuko raised his head and looked back. A giant crater now lay between him and the way back to the Northern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation fleet. Pushing himself up, the prince panted from the exertion before spying something not too far, "Shelter."

Walking over to the disembodied Aang, Prince Zuko grabbed him by the back of the shirt and dragged him to the cave. He pulled the Avatar inside before placing him against the clod cave wall. The glowing boy didn't move as Prince Zuko removed the ropes off of his person and started to bind Aang's hands, arms and feet.

\\_|_/

Back at the Northern Water Tribe, Steve and Thor landed in front of the palace where Chief Arnook waited for them. The chief then gave them a report, "The Waterbenders and the warriors are able to hold off the Firebenders and the Fire Nation soldiers, but I heard that they were having a little difficulty with those of Hydra."

"Then we'll go and help out." Captain America said. Thor nodded and said, "Aye. We shall verily give them a brawl that they won't soon forget."

"Then may the spirits be with you. I will join you shortly." Chief Arnook said before standing back. Thor then started to spin Mjolnir very fast before Cap grabbed onto the Asgardian's outstretched hand. When they had a secure grip, Thor let loose and they flew towards the battlefield.

\\_|_/

Spirit World

"Roku," Aang said as he looked down to the reflection of his predecessor with worry, "the Water Tribe is under attack by the Fire Nation and Hydra. I need to find the Moon and the Ocean spirits."

Avatar Roku then turned into a spout of water that rose in front of Aang and Frigga. He then told them, "The ocean and the moon are ancient spirits. They crossed over from the Spirit World to the Mortal World very near the beginning." Looking to Frigga he then said, "There is only one spirit that we know of who is old enough to remember where they would be now."

"Who?" Aang asked, feeling as he was getting closer to answer. Frigga then warned, "Be wary, young Avatar. This particular spirit is not like most spirits."

"She's right, Aang." Avatar Roku agreed. Then he revealed, "The spirit's name is Koh, and he is very dangerous." He closed his eyes as both he and Frigga gave the ominous warning, "They call him "The Face Stealer"."

Aang's eyes widened in horror from the sound of Koh's other name. Avatar Roku then warned, "When you speak with him, you must be very careful to show no emotion at all."

"That's how he ensnares his prey." Frigga added. Aang looked to her and she said, "Koh feeds on the emotions of other souls and spirits, adding the faces of his victims to his collection."

"Even the slightest expression and he will seal your face." Aang became scared as he thought of that happening to him. But then calming himself, Aang nodded as he now knew what needed to be done. A comforting hand from Frigga made Aang turn to her. She had a motherly smile as she said, "But you need not worry. I will be with you every step of the way and back again. I've even had the slight comfort of having a conversation with him."

\\_|_/

Physical World

Appa growled as he stepped through the snow as the group continued to search for Aang and Zuko. Sokka and Natasha jumped off the bison and took a few steps forward to see if they could pick up the trail. But all the two could see was a huge chasm ahead in the ice. But they didn't see any signs of their friend or the Fire Nation prince and turned back to Katara and Princess Yue to shake their heads. Katara's face fell as she had hoped that they would find their taken friend. Sokka and Natasha quickly ran back to Appa and climbed onto the bison's head. When they were secure, Sokka gave a flick of the reins to make them airborne.

\\_|_/

Prince Zuko rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm himself. Then raising them to his face, he blew small flames to warm them. He thought of his situation, "I finally have you," He glanced over to the glowing, unconscious and tied up boy as he then begrudgingly said, "but I can't get you home because of this blizzard."

Standing up he then ranted about how things would go for him, "There's always something. Not that you would understand." Then he looked down as he wished, "I do wish that I had Bucky here with me. He might know what to do."

He chuckled as he used his friend's nickname. But his smile fell as he recalled most of his life, "But you're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy and everyone adores her." He glanced back as he bitterly said, "My father says she was born lucky." He glared as he remembered his father's words to him, "He says I was lucky to be born."

Clenching his fists, he stood confident as he admitted, "I don't need luck, though." With a shake of his head he said, "I don't want it, either." But his gaze softened as he admitted, "But help I don't mind."

He thought of his uncle and the Winter Soldier as he added, "I've always had to struggle and fight, whether on my own or with someone by my side. And that's made me strong." He turned from the entrance and closed his eyes, "It's made me who I am."

\\_|_/

Back at the battlefield, the Fire Nation ships continued to launch fireballs at the city while soldiers of the alliance marched forward. The Fire Nation soldiers used a combination of smaller fireball launchers mounted onto Komodo Rhinos while the Hydra soldiers raised weapons that had a large head. They aimed the RPGs at the next wall and opened fire. The Water Tribe ran out of the way as the rockets detonated against the wall. The entire ice wall section had been completely blown away by the time Thor and Captain America touched down. Cap saw Master Pakku not too far and shouted, "What have we got, Master Pakku?!"

"Fire Nation soldiers launch both big and small fireballs from either the ships or from their mounts." Master Pakku quickly told him, "And those of Hydra are firing some kind of magical weapons as well. We're throwing everything we have to stop, but the combined army is starting to overwhelm us."

"Then let us use a two stage attack." Cap said. Both Pakku and Thor looked to him as the super soldier explained, "Me and Thor will go out first and try to get the soldiers to deplete their resources, whether by their hand or our own. And while their occupied, the Northern Tribe can come in from behind with all that they've got."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Pakku said, not having anything better. Thor nodded and said, "Then let us go knock a few heads."

Captain America and Thor quickly ran from behind the cover of the ice wall. Thor lifted Mjolnir up to the sky as it summoned a lightning bolt before firing it at an incoming rocket. The lightning caused the projectile to explode while the rest of the lightning rushed towards the launcher. The Hydra soldier yelped in pain as the lightning made his weapon explode. Cap then used his shield to block the rounds of bullets coming at them while Thor rushed forward and bashed Mjolnir hard against the broad side of Cap's vibranium shield. The duel move caused a shockwave that caused most of the soldiers to stumble. They both had to duck when tanks came rolling up and started to shoot fireballs from them. But a quick bashing from Mjolnir dented the opening. The hammer came back to Thor's outstretched hand and he grabbed it. Thor then said, "I noticed machine parts at the Northern Air Temple. I imagine that these are the same kind of weapon."

"Yep." Cap said before taking up a spear and blocking a sword stroke with his shield. The blade bent backwards from contact against the shield and with a quick jab from the spear, the soldier cried out in pain as his legs were slashed. Captain America then threw the spear at a Hydra soldier and that soldier grunted when the spear impaled his chest.

Cap and Thor continued to battle against which ever soldiers came their way. More tanks started to roll forward, but the Waterbenders on top of a defensive wall with waterfalls stopped the flow before sending it forward. The rush of water knocked the tanks back. But the tanks further behind launched grappling hooks to the walls. Some were able to penetrate the ice, but some were diverted by Cap's shield and Mjolnir. Those that did reach the wall pulled the sections out with a loud crash. Captain America looked back to see that Komodo Rhinos and their riders were breaching the wall. With a hefty throw of his shield, it was able to hit a few before a shot from a Hydra soldier knocked it to the ground. Cap was able to pick up a fallen soldier's spear and shield from the Fire Nation. With a shrug he said, "Not what I usually use, but, beggars can't be choosers."

Looking to Thor he said, "Plan's not working! We need to fall back!"

"You go and help Pakku!" Thor refused. Then he sounded determined as he said, "I will draw a line for myself here."

"Me and a few soldiers will help you, Thor Odinson." Master Pakku said from behind. He and a few students of his raised a shield of water to block both fireballs and blasts from Hydra's weapons. The waterbending master looked to Cap and said, "Hurry, before more of them reach the city."

The super soldier nodded and quickly dashed towards the wall. As he ran, he sliced the sword through the leg of one enemy and bashed the shield against another. He looked back ahead in horror as more sections of the wall came down. He noticed that he came running up to his shield and chucked his borrowed one at a soldier. The soldier grunted as he fell to the ground and Cap picked up his respective shield. Then with a throw of his other arm, he sent the sword flying before its hilt struck the helmet of another soldier. As he looked at the swarms of enemy soldiers he muttered, "I sure hope Katara's group or Aang are having better luck than we are. Plus, I wouldn't mind a little of the Hulk right about now."

Captain America yelped before covering his face with his shield as another fireball came right at him.

\\_|_/

On Admiral Zhao's flag ship, it and a few others were currently docked just a few yards from the wall. Standing behind the admiral on the observation deck, Iroh then told him, "I don't need to remind you that we have a time limit seeing as how it's almost near midday. If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable. And not even Hydra will be able to stand against them."

"I assure you I have everything under control." Admiral Zhao said as he looked to the general. Then he let it slip a little of his plans, "I intend to remove the moon as a factor."

Iroh's eyes widened from this and questioned, "Remove the moon? How?"

"Admiral Choi!" A voice said from behind. Both men looked back to see a Fire Nation soldier running up to them with his spear raised. The soldier removed his helmet and it was revealed to be Hahn as he declared, "Prepare to meet your fate!"

"I wouldn't do that, young man." A Fire Nation officer warned beside him. The man had white hair, a small moustache and orange tinted glasses. Then he said, "You might regret it."

But Hahn pushed past him while pointing his spear at Zhao. Then with a yell he rushed up to impale the Fire Nation officer. But Zhao moved out of the way and allowed Hahn to rush past them. Then Zhao shoved Hahn over the railing and Hahn screamed as he fell. Iroh watched as the teen landed in the ocean with a splash. Iroh shook his head at such a poor tactic. But not taking any chances, Zhao looked to the soldiers behind him and ordered, "Go fish him out of the ocean, and then find out if he's got any aid. Interrogate them to see what they know."

The Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers nodded before rushing back into the bridge. Zhao then turned back to the Northern Tribe and said, "As I was saying…" He told a little secret of his past, "Years ago, I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret. It's even just as great and powerful as our allies of Hydra." He smirked while Iroh's eyes widened as Zhao said, "The identity of the moon spirit's mortal form."

"What?" General Iroh asked, not fully understanding what Zhao was getting at. Zhao closed his eyes as he remembered, "I was just a young lieutenant serving under General Shoo in the Earth Kingdom."

\\_|_/

(Flashback)

A younger Zhao sat at a desk in a room filled with scrolls as the present day Zhao said, " _I discovered a hidden library, buried under the ground in fact._ "

The Zhao of the past continued looking through tomes and scrolls, tossing away what he didn't deem worthy, " _I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration and the words moon and ocean._ "

Younger Zhao's eyes widened and thought this was a divine moment for him as older Zhao said, " _I knew then that these spirits could be found and killed._ "

(End of Flashback)

\\_|_/

Zhao looked ahead as he knew that he was close to achieving this goal as he said, "And that it was my destiny to do so."

"Zhao!" Iroh warned with a stern gaze, "The spirits are not to be trifled with."

"Yes, yes, I know you fear the spirits, Iroh." Zhao nodded causing Iroh to back up a little. Then he brought up the general's past, "I've heard rumors about your journey into the spirit world." He leaned against the railing and said, "But the ocean and moon gave up their immortality to become a part of our world." They looked to the smoking ruins as he said, "And now they will face the consequences."

\\_|_/

Spirit World

Aang and Frigga quickly journeyed through the Spirit World to Koh's dwelling. They came across the large tree and found that their path was separated by spaces. Frigga was able to keep up with Aang thanks to her Asgardian reflexes. They jumped across the stones and stopped on one when they saw a large wolf spirit walk around the tree. When it was gone, they continued on their way to the dead looking tree. They soon reached the base of the tree and looked about for the opening. They ran up a root before looking down to see an opening. Aang began to feel anxious about going into the dark place before Frigga stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He looked to her as she pointed to something. He looked to see a little monkey spirit sitting on a root and took a deep breath thinking that was his feeling was about, "You're just a curly-tailed blue nose monkey spirit."

But when the monkey turned to look at him, Aang gasped when he saw that the spirit didn't have a face. Frigga then said, "Best to control yourself now, before going down into Koh's dwelling."

"Right." Aang nodded. Then taking in a deep breath, he repeated what Roku said as if his predecessor was there, "Show no fear/ _Show no fear._ Show no emotion at all/ _Show no emotion at all._ "

Keeping an emotionless face, both Aang and Frigga walked down into the mouth of the cave. The two walked down a long flight of stairs, each step taking them away from the light. Aang wanted to ask questions, but believed that it would create emotions. While keeping a calm face, he asked, "Hello? We're looking for a spirit named Koh?"

As they went further down, they could hear the sounds of something in the cave with them. Frigga then took a turn, "Come now, Koh, we need your counsel."

As they came down to a more flat section of the cave the sounds intensified. Aang looked around for any signs of the spirit, but it seemed that he barely missed seeing something. Frigga then told him, "Be ready, Aang."

They continued to look about as a white face appeared from the shadows. The face grinned as he thought of two new faces to his collection. Both Aang and Frigga put on emotionless faces as Koh ran around and said, "Welcome."

Aang and Frigga only blinked to the spirit, not letting the slightest of emotion through. Then with a respectful bow Aang said, "Thank you for seeing us."

"My old friends, The Avatar and Lady Frigga of Asgard." Koh said as he moved about. He came up behind the two, hoping to startle them or creep them out as he said, "It's been a long time with one of you, and not so long with another."

"I know that you know of Lady Frigga." Aang said, but was confused and didn't show it as he asked, "But you know me?"

Koh moved in front of them and rhetorically asked, "How could I forget you, young Avatar?" The lid closed and opened to reveal the face of a man with a short beard and a long moustache. He bitterly remembered, "One of your previous incarnations," He turned to the boy and tried to scare him by pointing his sharp legs at the boy while he said, "tried to slay me eight or nine hundred years ago."

"I didn't know that." Aang said, feeling both sorry and confused. Then he asked, "Why did he or I try to kill you?"

"Oh," Koh said while switching his face to that of a woman's, "it was something about stealing the face of someone you loved."

Aang and Frigga looked into Koh's stolen face before it turned into that of the monkey's spirit from earlier. Koh gave a menacing laugh even though he didn't scare them. But Koh shrugged and told them, "Of course, that's all behind us." Then circling around the boy he said tried prey on Aang's sympathies, "Why should I hold a grudge against you for something you did in a past life." Then he reminded, "After all, you're a completely different person now." He came closer and whispered, "You've come to me with a new face."

Then turning his attention to Frigga he said, "And it has been quite some time since you and I have spoken. How has your time in the Spirit World been?"

"Good." Frigga said as the spirit moved around to her face. Then she said, "And though I do miss my loved ones, I know that I will see them again." Then she said while remaining calm, "With my face of course."

Koh chuckled to this small joke and said, "Yes, yes. Keep thinking those hopeful thoughts."

\\_|_/

Physical World

Aang's body took in a deep breath, slightly startling Prince Zuko. He thought the Avatar was about to come back to this world. But when Aang's tattoo's didn't stop glowing and he didn't move, Zuko took in a breath. Looking back to the storm he said, "I guess we'll be here for a while."

The wind kept whistling as the blizzard rolled on.

\\_|_/

Appa flew over the snow covered tundra with Natasha and Sokka on his head while Katara and Princess Yue sat in the saddle. Princess Yue looked to Katara and saw that she was still upset. Then she tried to comfort her friend, "Don't worry, Prince Zuko can't have gotten too far in this weather."

"I'm not worried they'll get away in the blizzard." Katara said as she looked away. She was more worried about them living in this cold weather, "I'm worried they won't."

"They're not going to die in this blizzard." Sokka reassured from his spot. Natasha agreed and said, "Yeah, judging from how Zuko was looking when we last saw him, I'd say that he's been through a lot worse. He knows how to keep going."

"They will survive, and we'll find them." Sokka chimed in. Then he said, "So let's keep looking for them."

The girls nodded and they looked to the ground to see any signs of them.

\\_|_/

The battle was slowly turning out of the Water Tribe's favor as they kept being forced back. One soldier said to Cap, "This is getting ridiculous! It's like when we beat at least one of them, two more take their place!"

"That's how Hydra works!" Captain America told him. He looked to the back of the battle and hoped that Thor was having much better luck.

The prince of Asgard spun his hammer really quickly as a squad of Fire Nation soldiers unleashed a mighty torrent of flame. Then with a quick motion of his hand he was able to use the force to knock them back. As the Fire Nation soldiers fell to the ground, the Waterbenders were quick to use a huge spray to knock ordinary soldiers and Hydra soldiers off their feet. Thor looked to the outer wall and his eyes widened as he saw more tanks descending from the ramp.

\\_|_/

Spirit World

Frigga and Aang stood still as Koh moved about them, know with an owl spirit's face. The spirit tried to get to Aang's face by saying, "It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection." But getting back to what Frigga said a few moments ago he asked, "So how may I help you two?"

"We need to find the moon and the ocean." Aang told him. Koh came back around to Aang and said, "Their spirit names are Twee and La." Then he crawled around the wall and said, "Push and pull. And that has been the nature of their relationship for all of time."

"Please, help us find them." Aang pleaded without letting emotion through. Then he added, "An entire civilization could be destroyed if we don't get their help."

Koh switched his face to that of an old man that somewhat looked like Master Pakku as he said, "Oh, you think that you need their help?" Then he pointed out, "Actually, it's quite the other way around."

"What are you talking about?" Frigga asked, not understanding. Switching his face as he darted for them to get a reaction, he had a face that resembled the Blue Spirit as he shouted, "Someone is going to kill them!"

"What do you mean?" Aang asked him, "How can we find them and protect them?"

"You've already met them, actually." Koh said while changing back to the first face they saw. Then making his body stand tall he said, "Twee and La- your moon and ocean- have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other." He flexed as he gave synonyms, "Push and pull. Life and death. Good and evil." Aang's eyes widened as Koh then said, "Yin and Yang."

\\_|_/

(Flashback)

He remembered seeing the Yin and Yang symbol from watching the Koi fish in the Oasis pond. Though it was slow, he remembers watching them slowly transform into the very symbol that helped him to cross over.

(End of Flashback)

\\_|_/

"The Koi fish!" Aang excitedly said. Frigga was about to say something but didn't as Koh rushed up to try and take the boy's face while taking on the Blue Spirit's face again. But he was disappointed when he found an expressionless Aang looking him in the eye. Aang then respectively said, "We must be going now."

Koh switched to a face that somewhat reminded Aang of Admiral Zhao. Koh then said, "We'll meet again." Looking to Frigga he asked, "You plan to come back?"

"Who knows." Frigga shrugged as she and Aang turned to take their leave. As they walked out of the cave, Koh slunk back into the shadows to wait for the next opportunity to steal another's face.

When they neared the exit, both Aang and Frigga hurried out. Frigga looked to Aang and said, "Such mischief. Loki would be proud."

"Sorry about that." Aang apologized. Frigga shook her head and said, "Don't be. You were able to get the information and keep your face." But then she said, "But now we must hurry."

"Right." Aang nodded and they walked over to where a pull of water sat. Looking down to his reflection as it turned into Roku, he said, "The spirits are in trouble. I need to get back to the physical world."

"A friend is here to guide you back." Avatar Roku said before his reflection turned into that of another spirit. A giant panda took his place and Aang happily turned and said, "Hei Bai!"

The panda spirit purred as he lowered himself for Aang and Frigga to climb on. Both of them quickly climbed on and hung on tight. Aang looked back to Frigga and said, "It's good to feel emotions again."

Frigga laughed before looking to Hei Bai and said, "With as much speed as you can muster, Hei Bai."

Hei Bai gave a growl before taking off. The panda spirit bounded back across stones as quickly and carefully as he could.

\\_|_/

Physical World

The North Pole was in ruins as the Fire Nation and Hydra continued their advance. Night time was soon upon them again and the Waterbenders were able to fight back much better than they did during the day. But fireballs were still raining down upon the city. Water Tribe citizen's scrambled to get to safety as they screamed in fear. Two rushed past a totem pole made of ice that was soon crushed by an incoming tank. The tank continued to shoot fireballs while the Waterbenders defended against them. As one tank took aim at a couple of Waterbenders, Thor yelled as he came down on the tank and caused it to crumble underneath.

In the east, the moon started to rise and the Waterbenders were able to feel its power flow through them. One Waterbender dropped down in front a platoon of soldiers and with a parting of his hands, he was able to make the bridge under the soldiers crumble. Both Fire Nation and Hydra alike yelled as they fell. The rest yelled as the Waterbender pushed the bridge back. Another soldier stood in the way of a tank as it advanced and caused it to sink into the ice. Quickly blocking a blast of fire, he then sent a chunk of ice that dented the opening hatch. A group of Waterbenders launched shards of ice at the enemy soldiers. Those with shields were able to hide behind them, but other soldiers weren't so lucky as the ice embedded themselves into their bodies.

A group of regular soldiers stood against Master Pakku before he sank them and encased them in ice. He ducked under a fire blast from a Firebender and noticed that he was completely surrounded by soldiers and tanks alike. Then with a few spins of his body and hands, he was able to send a wave of ice that cut through the tanks wheels. He repeated the action on the other tanks and crippled them. Some soldiers behind him tried a sneak attack, but Master Pakku encased them in rising ice before creating a tornado of water around himself and was able to deflect any shots that came up at him. Then with a huge wave around the tornado, he was able to knock the other Firebenders away.

A trio of Waterbenders moved in unison to throw a tank off the ground. The soldiers near the tank moved back while the tank was sent flying through the air. The tank landed in front of Admiral Zhao and his group. They had long since come ashore to enact Zhao's master plan to win the battle. Zhao wiped some of the snow off his shoulder while another Firebender melted the snow off of him. Then he told his group, "We'll be following this map to a very special location." He placed it in his armor while saying, "And when we get there," A dark smile crept on his face as he said, "we're going fishing."

But before they went any further, Admiral Zhao looked back to one last member of his party. The Winter Soldier looked to him as the Admiral then ordered, "Go and take care of the Avengers!" The assassin nodded and said, "And make sure that you don't screw it up."

The Winter Soldier nodded again before taking off to the city. Admiral Zhao then motioned with his hand for them to keep moving.

As the Winter Soldier made his way across the frozen ground, Captain America could see him coming from the wall. Knocking down a Fire Nation soldier, Cap moved to intercept his friend.

\\_|_/

Spirit World

Hei Bai ran through a thick fog as he entered the swamp lands with his passengers on his back. They soon came across the gate where Aang first appeared. The Avatar slid off the panda spirit's back and said, "So this is the way I came in," turning back to Hei Bai and Frigga he asked, "but how do I get back?"

"Step underneath the gate and Hei Bai can help you." Frigga said with a smile. Aang did as instructed and stood between the posts. Hei Bai stood on his back legs and took in a deep breath before unleashing a gentle beam of energy at Aang. Aang could feel himself passing through the barrier again. Frigga then said, "Tell Thor that I love him."

In the next instance, Aang vanished from the Spirit World and back to the Physical World. The snow monkey spirit had moved to a different spot while opening an eye and sounded relieved as he said, "Good riddance."

"Hei Bai." Frigga calmly said. The panda spirit didn't have to be told twice as he morphed into his angry form and came up to the snow monkey spirit. Then with a roar he unleased a blast of spirit energy that sent a screaming monkey flying backwards. Frigga walked over as Hei Bai returned to his true form and looked to the Asgardian. Frigga looked up into the sky of the Spirit World and said, "Good luck to you, young heroes."

\\_|_/

Physical World

Aang's astral body appeared under the spirit gate where left the mortal plane. He looked down to the sleeping Momo and said to the lemur, "Momo!"

"Momo?" He reached down to pet the lemur, but quickly noticed that he wasn't in his body. He looked around and said, "Oh, no- where's my body? And where are the girls?"

His entire being glowed into a sphere of light before blasting off into the air. Aang's spirit flew high into the air before turning southward towards his body.

From the battlefield, Steve looked up and saw the moving light, "Aang."

The blizzard ended as Appa kept flying. The four kept searching for Aang and Prince Zuko when Katara felt a familiar presence. Looking back she saw a stream of light and pointed, "Look, that's got to be Aang!"

"His spirit must be heading towards his body." Natasha said as they all looked to see the spiritual energy fly. Sokka turned the reins to guide Appa in that same direction while Katara shouted, "Yip, yip."

Appa groaned as he turned in the direction just as the spiritual energy came closer. It went inside Aang and Zuko's hiding place before reentering his body. Aang's tattoos stopped glowing and opened his eyes. He gasped when he felt himself restrained, tried to break free and then moved himself into a sitting position. The first person he saw was Prince Zuko standing at the back of the cave. The Fire Nation prince then said, "Welcome back."

"Good to be back." Aang said with a glare before taking in a deep breath. Prince Zuko saw that he was about to pull something and moved to intercept, but Aang unleased a gust of wind that not only knocked Prince Zuko back but also shot Aang out of the cave. Aang grunted as he tumbled into the snow and rolled to a stop. Then acting like an inch worm, Aang tried to crawl away. But it wasn't enough as Prince Zuko quickly caught up with him and yanked him out of the snow. Holding him with both hands, Prince Zuko chided, "That won't be enough to escape."

But the growl of a certain bison caused them to look up and Aang happily shouted, "Appa!"

The flying bison landed not too far away and both Natasha and Katara stood up. But a hand from the Waterbender stopped Nat in her tracks. Katara looked to the spy and said, "Let me have this one."

"Alright then, Katara." Natasha agreed and sat out of it. Katara hopped down from the bison and landed in the snow before taking her stance. Aang looked to Zuko with a smile before the prince dropped him and he yelled, "Whoa!"

"Here for a rematch?" Prince Zuko questioned as he took up his stance as well. Katara glared as she said, "Trust me, Zuko, this isn't going to be much of a match."

Then raising her arms she created a wall between her and fireball. The snow canceled out the fire before Katara threw a wave of slush at the prince just as he prepared another fireball. But a rising mound of slush around his person stopped him. Prince Zuko cried out as he raised into the air before being brought down with a loud thud. The prince was knocked unconscious as he hit the ground and snow covered him and the bound Aang. Sokka came running up to Aang and started cutting the ropes with his boomerang. When he had begun to get Aang loose, he complimented the binds, "Hey, this is some quality rope."

"Shall we tie you up to test that?" Natasha joked from the saddle. Sokka glared at her while sarcastically saying, "Ha, ha!"

"We need to get back to the oasis!" Aang said with urgency. This confused everyone as Natasha said, "Why what's going on?"

"The spirits are in trouble." Aang said as he handed the rest of the rope to Sokka. Both the boys quickly ran back to Appa and Aang jumped onto the bison's head. As Natasha and Princess Yue help Sokka into the saddle, Aang looked back to the unconscious Zuko and said, "Wait." The other's looked to him as he said, "We can't just leave him here."

"Sure we can, let's go." Sokka said without a second thought. Natasha seemed to agree with him and said, "He does deserve this, but…" Aang was quick to disagree, knowing that all life deserves to be treated fairly, jumped off while saying, "But if leave him, he'll die."

"Yeah, this makes a lot of sense." Sokka sarcastically said as Aang ran over to the unconscious teen. Then he added, "Let's bring the guy who is constantly trying to kill us."

"But, think of at least some benefits of having him as a prisoner." Natasha said as she thought about it. Sokka then realized it as well and said, "Even though he's banished, it could give us an edge in the war."

"Bingo." Natasha said with a nod. Aang hoisted Zuko onto his shoulders and carried him back to Appa. Then hopping into the saddle, he set Zuko down and said, "Tie him up. That way he can't run."

Then jumping onto Appa's head, Aang sat down, grabbed the reins and flicked them while saying, "Yip, yip!"

Appa groaned as he slammed his tail onto the snow covered ground and took off into the air.

\\_|_/

Back on the battlefield, Captain America ran through the streets as he looked for his friend. He ran up a flight of twirling stairs and when he came at the top, he stopped. Standing on the other side of the bridge, the Winter Soldier stood with his weapon slung over his back. Cap looked his friend turned enemy in the eye and said, "I know you're in there, Bucky."

The Winter Soldier said nothing as he unslung his weapon from his back. Cap then said, "If we're gonna fight," he let his shield fall from his hand and stated, "then let's at least do it hand to hand."

The assassin looked from the super soldier to the dropped vibranium shield. Noting that Cap didn't look to make any moves to retrieve it, the Winter Soldier dropped his weapon as well. The gun thumped against the ice as both fighters readied themselves. A second later, both super soldiers rushed towards each other and lashed out a fist. Their fists collided against each other. Captain America grabbed a kick to his middle and backed up when the Winter Soldier lashed out with his metallic hand. The Winter Soldier took this as an opportunity to deliver a kick to the captain's chest. Cap rolled backwards before rising to his feet once again. Looking his foe/friend in the eye, he said his trademark line, "I can do this all day."

\\_|_/

On the battlefield, Thor swatted fireballs and large projectile weapons away from the soldiers behind them to defend them. They were being pushed back by every step, and Thor truly wished that he had a little more aid as both he and the Water Tribe fought against their enemies. Looking back to the Waterbenders of the group he ordered, "Create a wall between me and yourselves!"

The Waterbenders nodded and formed an ice wall that separated them from Thor and the attacking enemies. Then pointing Mjolnir into the sky, Thor summoned as much lightning as he could before leaping high into the air towards the enemy. Both the Fire Nation and Hydra looked up in terror as Thor came back down. One officer shouted, "Retreat!"

The soldiers started to run, but it was too late as Thor came down and slammed Mjolnir into the ground. It created a shockwave that rolled across the ice and made the soldiers fall to the ground. Looking back to the Water Tribe warriors, Thor then shouted, "Now!"

The warriors defending the north shouted in unison as the Waterbenders dropped the wall and ran out with weapons made from ice, steel or bone. Following behind the God of Thunder, they shouted war cries as they engaged the enemy worthy for the halls of Valhalla.

\\_|_/

At the oasis, the black and white Koi Fish, Twee and La, were still swimming around each other in circles. But it was interrupted when a hand plunged into the waters and grabbed the white fish. The Ocean Spirit swam away while the Moon Spirit struggled as its mortal form was stuffed into a sack. As it struggled in the sack while Zhao raised it from the water, the moon above the world turned blood red. The red light caused everything below in the North Pole to take on the same hue of color.

\\_|_/

From their small duel on the bridge, both Captain America and the Winter Soldier looked up to see the moon turning red. They both knew that something bad was happening.

\\_|_/

Down further on the battlefield, Thor and his ragtag team of Water Tribe warriors had just beaten the latest squad of the enemy. As a tank came rolling up to them, they erected an ice wall just as the moon started to turn red. The ice wall fell just as it was about to be frozen. Thor saw this shift in the battle and quickly moved to bat away and fireballs that came at them.

Master Pakku's water tornado quickly ended with him falling to the ground. Other Waterbenders felt the disappearance of their connection as their attacks and defenses failed. They couldn't even hold back the Komodo Rhinos anymore.

The Fire Nation and Hydra quickly took advantage of their weakness and pressed their attack. The Firebenders launched a three pronged attack by shooting a fireball from their fists and another one from their feet. They repeated their attacks while the soldiers of Hydra opened fire with their weapons. Those able to escape the onslaught were able to duck and cover while trying to figure out a way to turn the tide.

\\_|_/

Elsewhere in the Fire Nation, the Red Skull had finished reporting to the Fire Lord of their progress. The main base of Hydra was standing just a couple of miles from the capital city. Johann Schmidt looked up into the night time sky and his eyes widened at the sight of the moon turning red. He then said, "It appears that the Admiral is doing all he can to win."

"And yet it will throw the world out of balance. Into chaos." A voice said from behind. The Red Skull looked back to see the robotic body of Arnim Zola coming to meet him. Zola then said, "If he is not careful, then there might not be a world to take control of."

"I highly doubt that." The Red Skull dismissed, "I'm sure that Captain America and the Avatar will figure out a way to put the moon back."

"How do you know of this?" Arnim asked. Schmidt then said, "Because they are heroes. And this is what heroes do." But turning to the automaton he then ordered, "I plan to recall the Winter Soldier. I want you to put him in deep freeze."

"But you said that he was currently engaging Captain America." Arnim Zola said, becoming confused. Then he asked, "Should we not allow him to complete his mission?"

"Unfortunately, the programming that you installed and reintegrated is starting to come loose. He will more than likely try to turn to the Avengers side." The Red Skull said. Then with a sigh, the leader of Hydra then said, "Besides, I believe it is high time that we went with Plan B for eliminating the Avatar, the captain and the Avengers."

"Ah, yes." Arnim's robotic head nodded, "The team that you put together."

"Yes." Johann agreed. He then said, "When I pull the Winter Soldier from the battlefield, you will place him under and I will give command of the team to the princess."

"She may not like that." Arnim pointed out. Schmidt then said, "She will do anything to please her father, not that she has anything to worry about."

"Then it will be done." Arnim promised. They both looked up to the red moon.

\\_|_/

Appa flew by the red moon as he made his way back to the Northern Water Tribe. Both Aang and Princess Yue clutched their heads as if feeling a great pain in their heads. Sokka moved to the princess and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I feel faint." Princess Yue said as she felt a sudden shift in the balance. Natasha then questioned, "It has something to do with the moon going red, doesn't it?"

Aang then said from the saddle, "I feel it, too." Katara and Natasha looked to him as he gazed up to the moon and told them, "The moon spirit is in trouble."

"Then we need to hurry back, double time." Natasha said. Aang nodded and flicked the reins to make Appa go faster. As they continued on their way, Princess Yue said to the group, "I owe the moon spirit my life."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked as h leaned forward. Natasha then asked, "Did it save your life?"

"It did." Princess Yue nodded. Then she told the others her story, "When I was born, I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they are born…"

\\_|_/

(Flashback)

" _But I was born as if I were asleep, my eyes closed._ " A younger Princess Yue laid in a crib with her eyes closed and her hair just like every other baby of the Northern Water Tribe.

" _Our healers did everything they could._ " Three healers used the healing side of Waterbending to see if they could help the princess. Her mother and father watched from the sidelines, worried about their daughter.

" _They told my mother and father I was going to die._ " A younger Yagoda stood beside the troubled parents as Yue's father held his wife. Two other healers stayed next to Princess Yue as Yagoda told them the terrible news.

" _My father pleaded with the spirits to save me._ " Chief Arnook stood by a window looking up to the moon as he prayed for his daughter's recovery.

" _That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me into the pond._ " Chief Arnook and his wife carried Princess Yue to the oasis and stood by the pond. Carefully placing his daughter in the water, Chief Arnook waited to see if the spirit's would help, and they did.

" _My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry._ " They watched as the baby's hair quickly turned from black to white, her eyes opened and she let out her first cries.

" _And they knew I would live._ " Both the chief and his wife were happy that Princess Yue would live as they looked down to their daughter.

(End of Flashback)

\\_|_/

"That's why my mother named me Yue," Princess Yue finished her tale, "for the moon."

The group didn't know what to say about the princess' story as they continued flying.

\\_|_/

Admiral Zhao still had a hold of the spirit in the sack as he turned to face the moon. He made it sound as if he had become a god or something as he said while raising the sack, "I am a legend now." He was proud as he felt his accomplishment would be remembered for all time, "The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao who darkened the moon with the aid of Hydra." Then he began thinking of names they would give him, "They will call me Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon-slayer!" He made it sound dramatic as he said, "Zhao, the Invincible!"

But Zhao the Invincible was humiliated when a certain flying lemur jumped on his head. Zhao shouted for help while Momo messed with him, "Oh! Get it off! Get it off!"

The lemur went as far as pulling on the Admiral's side burns. The Firebenders moved to help their commander, but Momo saw a familiar sight and quickly jumped off and flew across the pond. Zhao and his Firebenders looked up and saw Avatar Aang, Sokka, Katara and Natasha standing at the ready while Aang held out an arm for Momo. Momo landed on the limb and ran behind Aang's head. Both sides stood at the ready while Natasha taunted, "Ready when you are, hotheads."

This caused most of the Firebenders to growl in irritation to this. But when the four heroes moved to engage, Zhao lifted the bag and a fist while threatening, "Don't bother."

"Zhao," Aang warned, knowing what he planned to do and put up his hands to calm the tension, "don't."

Sokka, Katara, and Natasha were also wide eyed to the admiral's plan and relaxed their guard. Zhao then said, "It's my destiny to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe." Aang said, trying to make the admiral see reason. A figure snuck in from the side path with a hood covering their face. He pointed out, "It will hurt everyone, including you, the Fire Nation and Hydra. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world."

"I would listen to him." Natasha pointed out. Then she added, "Seeing as how he's the one with the knowledge of keeping the balance of the world."

"They are right, Zhao." A new voice said from the side. They all looked to see a figure standing on the left bridge. Zhao immediately knew who it was as he addressed him, "General Iroh." The admiral didn't look so surprised when he said, "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

"I'm no traitor, Zhao." Iroh said as he removed his hood. Then he knew for a fact, "The Fire Nation needs the moon, too. We all depend on the balance."

Zhao didn't move as he had a fist ready for a fiery blast. Iroh then warned him as he assumed his stance, "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash upon you tenfold!" Then with a strict gaze he ordered, "Let it go, now!"

Admiral Zhao tried to keep his hardened gaze, but it softened as it appeared he had listened to their wisdom. Kneeling down to the pond, he set the spirit back into the pond. The moon spirit's return caused the moon above them to return to normal. As the rest of the color's returned, Zhao's gaze once again hardened and he stood up while raising his hand. Then with a yell he created a slash of fire before the moon spirit could get away. Iroh and the group of heroes were horrified at what Zhao had done and looked up into the sky. The moon faded from the sky, indicating that the moon spirit was killed. Iroh sent a fireball at Zhao, but the Admiral ducked and the Firebenders moved to protect him. Natasha came running up the other side while delivering a roundhouse kick to a Firebender's face. While she and Iroh were taking care of the Firebenders, Zhao took the opportunity to sneak away.

Iroh engaged two Firebenders while Nat took on the other two. Iroh was able to deflect the flame fists and kicks that came their way while launching a few of their own. Natasha leapt onto one of the Firebenders before pulling him down and kicking him over her head. He plowed right into the other one before all four ran from the losing battle. But they wouldn't get far as Nat used her stingers to launch four projectiles at them. All four Firebenders yelled in pain as electricity was zapped through them and they fell to the ground. All four of them groaned in pain while Natasha and Iroh turned their attention to the pond.

The ocean spirit swam around the moon spirit that was floating belly up with a nasty looking burn on its body. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Princess Yue all were horrified at what just happened and moved to see what could be done. But none of them had noticed that a certain Prince had escaped from them.

They all stood together, looking down at the spirit's limp mortal form. Iroh kneeled down and scooped the fish out of the water. When it didn't seem to have any life in it. Princess Yue sounded distressed as she wept, "There's no hope now."

"Don't say that." Natasha shook her head. Then she added, "There's gotta be something we can do."

But Princess Yue shook her head, fearing all was lost as she said, "It's over."

Aang hung his head, feeling the weight of both anger and guilt over the moon spirit's death. Momo jumped off the boy's shoulder as if knowing that something was coming. Knowing that there was a way, his tattoos glowed, and opened his glowing eyes into a stern gaze as he said with the voices of his past lives, "No, it is not over."

He started to move into the pond. Katara tried to stop him, fearing that he could lose himself again, but both Iroh and Nat stopped her. They all watched as the Avatar walked into the middle of the pond and stood still with his fists together. The ocean spirit circled the bridge before moving to where it floated in front of him. Aang's glowing expression was a stern one as it somehow met the gaze of the ocean spirit. The eyes and head marking of the Ocean Spirit's Koi Fish's from glowed as well to right the terrible wrong. Everyone watched in amazement as the glow intensified within the pool. Aang remained still before he sank into the pond.

A blue glow spread from underneath the oasis, giving the gloomy darkness a little more color. The glow continued to grow throughout the entire Northern Tribe.

Thor, having been keeping his team of warriors and benders protected as best as he could, looked up as the blue glow spread. Cap and Bucky also looked up from their battle to see the glow.

Back in the oasis, the whole group looked to the right as something moved through the water under the bridge and into the water way. When the thing reached the end of the water way, it started rise up and take form of a giant water spirit with the head of the Koi Fish and in its heart Avatar Aang. Clawed hands extended from the manifestation's torso as Aang lifted the arms. Everyone, friend, foe, warrior and citizen all stared in awe at the sight.

Aang made the manifestation around him move through the Northern Water Tribe palace and down the stairs. As he came by the water ways, he would pass by warriors and benders from both sides. The Water Tribe would bow in respect while the Fire Nation and Hydra all readied their weapons, but they wouldn't get the chance as Aang used a wave of water to wash them away. Then he moved on further down the hill. With waves of his arms, Aang's manifestation was able to wash away the enemy forces easily. But as he went down further, the manifestation's face was struck by a fireball. With another wave of his arms, Aang's manifestation was able to sweep more soldiers and tanks away. The Water Tribe warriors and benders he left alone as he passed by the streets. The Ocean Manifestation came upon Thor's group and glanced down. While the Waterbenders fell onto their knees and faces, Thor was still respectful as he dropped down on one knee. The Ocean Manifestation unleashed another wave of water to wash away the soldiers that Thor's group had been dealing with. The rest of the soldiers started to retreat back to the ships. The Ocean Manifestation then lowered itself into the water and moved down to the canal to the ocean.

\\_|_/

Back at Cap and Bucky's fight, the two super soldiers had stopped fighting. Cap removed his helmet to show his fiend his real face. Steve then asked, "Bucky, did you know of Zhao's goal."

"No." The Winter Soldier shook his head, honestly not knowing how far the admiral would have gone. Steve then said, "Do agree with what Zhao has done? Do you agree with this madness?"

This caused the assassin of Hydra to think really hard about his choice. Then he looked his old friend in the eye and said, "No. I would have stopped him."

"I know you would have." Steve nodded. Taking slow steps towards his friend, he asked, "Will you help me," Then he added, "help us, stop the Fire Nation."

Bucky looked down to the Steve's hand as the super soldier extended it to him. Bucky softly smiled and took it with a firm grip. The sound of yelling caused them to look for the source. Bucky listened closely and heard it, "It's Zuko."

"And it sounds like he's engaging Zhao." Steve assumed. Bucky then said, "What say we go help out."

Steve smiled and the two quickly ran to pick up their things before running off.

\\_|_/

Admiral Zhao jumped off one wall and ran along a path. But before he could go any further, a fireball rushed past him and demolished a totem made of ice. He shielded his face from the debris before looking behind him on the wall. Looking to the top, his eyes widened when he saw Prince Zuko standing there. He was completely surprised as he questioned, "You're alive?"

"You tried to have me killed!" Zuko angrily shouted as launched a fireball at him. Then with a quick motion of his hand he launched another. Zhao quickly moved out of the way as the fireballs impacted the wall where he once stood. Rolling to where he stood, Zhao prepared his own stance and then admitted it with a glare, "Yes, I did."

Prince Zuko walked through the smoke as Zhao said, "You're the Blue Spirit. And the Winter Soldier not doubt is the Red Spirit. Enemies of the Fire Nation." Then with an accusing finger as the Ocean Manifestation moved to the ocean, "You freed the Avatar and an Avenger."

"We had no choice." Prince Zuko said, speaking for both him and Bucky. Then he sent a flaming kick in Zhao's direction before following up with a fire fist. Zuko unleashed two more fire fists while Zhao was able to block and cut the flames with his hands like he did during his and Zuko's Agni Kai. When the flames ended, Zhao removed his ruined cape and said, "You should have chosen to accept you failure, your disgrace." Prince Zuko looked as if he didn't regret anything as Zhao then said, "Then, at least you could have lived."

Then he threw a fire fist of his own. Zuko was able to move out of the way of it and another while moving closer to the admiral. He jumped over a flaming sweep kick and the two moved around each other as Zhao stood back up. Zuko blocked a fire punch as the flames streamed from Zhao's fist. Zhao was quick to move out of the way of a fire punch to his midsection and used a flaming slide kick. Prince Zuko was able to jump over it. But a sudden normal sweep kick knocked the prince off his feet. Zuko rolled over and gasped when he saw that Zhao was ready to end the fight. But before he could launch an attack, Zhao grunted as a blur hit him in the chest before knocking him back. Both Zhao and Zuko looked to see Captain America and the Winter Soldier running up. Zhao gritted his teeth and angrily questioned, "How many traitors will there be tonight?"

"At least we're not destroying the world." Bucky shot back while raising his rifle. Then firing a few shots at the admiral's feet made Zhao back up as he jumped to avoid the shots. Zhao looked between the three of them, knowing that though the odds were against him he would fight to the end. Holding both hands pressed together over his head, the admiral unleashed a wave of fire. Prince Zuko was quick to act as he jumped up and sent a fire blast of his own that caused both attacks to cancel out. Both Cap and the Soldier jumped up into the air before delivering a good punch to Zhao's face. Zhao grunted as he fell back, but spun around on his hands while creating a wall of flame. Both Captain America and the Winter Soldier jumped back while Prince Zuko quickly jumped in the middle and launched a double fire fist at his foe. Zhao was quick to move out of the way and follow up with a high fire fist of his own, but Zuko was quick to avoid it by ducking and unleashing a blast at point blank. Zhao screamed from the heat as he fell off the wall. Prince Zuko, Captain America and the Winter Soldier all jumped down after him as Admiral Zhao picked himself up and ran.

\\_|_/

Back at the oasis, Iroh gently laid the body of the Moon Spirit's mortal form back into the water. Katara sounded truly sad as she said, "It's too late." Her, Iroh and Natasha all looked to the spirit as she said, "It's dead."

"What we need is a miracle." Nat shook her head, fearing that the battle might not go so well. They all hung their heads in sorrow before Iroh glanced over at Yue and quickly noticed something about her. He sounded hopeful as he said, "You have been touched by the moon spirit."

Yue hadn't moved while Sokka looked to him as Iroh reminded her, "Some of its life is in you."

"Yes." Yue nodded, "You're right. It saved me by giving its life." Then she knew what she might be able to do, "Maybe I can give it back."

This caused Sokka's eyes to widen and he said, "No." He grabbed her hand and argued, "You don't have to do that."

"It's my duty, Sokka." Princess Yue said, knowing what was right, even if she didn't want to. Natasha then said, "Not to make it sound mean or anything, but maybe this is like some kind of test."

They looked to her as she said, "That story you told us, about how the moon spirit saving your life. Maybe it foresaw how it might need you one day."

"You could be right." Princess Yue agreed, not fully knowing herself. But Sokka was completely against it by saying, "I won't let her." The princess looked to him as he said, "I won't let you." His grip on her hand tightened as he said, "Your father told me to protect you."

"But she has to protect her people." Natasha begrudgingly said, not liking to have to sacrifice a friend either. Princess Yue was in full agreement as she closed her eyes and said, "I have to do this."

Then putting on a brave face, her hand slipped from Sokka's grasp. Sokka could only watch in slight sadness to her sacrifice, but knew that they were right. Princess Yue kneeled down as Iroh once again removed the Moon Spirit from the pond. He held it up to her while Natasha said, "You're doing a very brave thing here, Princess Yue. And I'm sorry."

"We all are." Katara said, feeling sadness for her friend. Princess Yue gave a weak smile as she said, "Thank you, for all that you've done."

Then gently placing her hands on the fish's body, it glowed as the life given to Yue passed back into itself. Princess Yue's eyes closed as she could feel her own life fading while the moon spirit regained its own. The glow soon stopped and Princess Yue let out a sigh as she passed on. Sokka ran up to catch her and shouted, "No!"

He checked to see if she were truly, and sadness creeped into his heart as he said, "She's gone." He held her close and looked as if he were going to cry as he repeated, "She's gone."

Katara, Natasha and Iroh all hung their heads for the loss of the princess.

\\_|_/

The Fire Nation ships began to raise their ramps to their bow positions as they pulled back from the wall. The Ocean Manifestation came gliding through an opening between the wall. As it started to rise up, the bulk of the manifestation caused the flagship and the two beside it to bob a little. The hands of the manifestation reached out as the rest of it rose up and placed themselves on the decks of four of the ships. Then with a simple motion forward, both ships were pushed back. The ships were sent speeding back through the water and grazed a few other ships as they went by.

Aang moved the Ocean Manifestation before moving the right arm to block a fireball from a Firebender from the top of an observation deck. Then raising the other arm, the manifestation sliced through the tower with ease. The soldiers, whether they be from the Fire Nation or Hydra, cried out as they fell into sea below. Soldiers ducked as the manifestation destroyed catapults, parts of ships and towers as the manifestation powered through the invasion force. The Ocean Manifestation raised its arms to create a large wave that pushed the entire fleet back. The soldiers held on for dear life as the manifestation lowered its arms. The wave it created pushed the ships further out to the sea and the Ocean Manifestation followed after them. Aang moved the manifestation's head to see the remaining ships as they were sitting before icebergs. The manifestation moved to continue its job.

From the wall, Thor ran up to watch as Aang was doing what he could not. With a nod, Thor raised Mjolnir and said, "May you have the strength of the All-Fathers, Avatar Aang."

\\_|_/

Iroh, Natasha and Katara sat around Sokka as he cradled Princess Yue's body in sadness. The princess' body started to fade from Sokka's arms, and when he opened his eyes she fully vanished. The other three looked in surprise before the Koi Fish in Iroh's hand started to glow. All four of them stood on their feet as he moved to place the fish back into the pond. Sokka looked down at the Koi Fish with a mixture of sadness, anger and guilt. The oasis pond started to glow as a white light filled the water. A spiritual mist rose from the glowing water before taking on the form of Yue's spirit. The spirit of the princess' eyes trembled with equal sadness as she looked to the one she truly loved and said, "Good-bye, Sokka." She came up to him and placed her hands on both sides of his face and said, "I'll always be with you."

Then she pressed her lips against his and he did the same as he kissed back. But it didn't last long as she faded into the Spirit World. Sokka opened his eyes when he felt that she was no longer there. Sokka looked up into the sky with great sadness. They all looked up into the sky as the moon reappeared in its place in the sky, returning light to the land. Natasha came up behind him and said, "I really am sorry, Sokka."

Sokka just hung his head in great sadness.

\\_|_/

The sky returned to its normal self over the Ocean Manifestation as it prepared to finish off the battle. But as it moved to fight, Aang made it look up to see that the moon had returned in the sky. Knowing that there was no more cause for battle, the manifestation started to sink beneath the waves. Thor, worried, shouted, "Aang!"

But he didn't have to worry as the manifestation came up to a spot on the wall and extended itself to the top. The Ocean Spirit released Aang before the extension sank back. Aang's tattoos stopped glowing and he clutched his head. He looked to his right when he heard, "Aang!"

Aang watched as Thor jumped over to him and landed with a loud thud. The prince of Asgard came up to him and smiled as he said, "You are full of tricks, aren't you?"

"Yep." Aang smiled back. Thor wrapped his arm around Aang before twirling Mjolnir very fast. Then holding on to the strap as he let go, both he and Aang were whisked off the wall.

\\_|_/

In another section of the city, Zhao was defending himself from Prince Zuko, Captain America and the Winter Soldier. He moved out of the way when the Winter Soldier brought down a fist. The fists impact created a large crack. The admiral tried to land a fire fist, but Cap's shield knocked his hand off course. Prince Zuko then came in with a flaming high kick. Zhao was able to disperse it, but Zuko then came in with a huge blast at point blank again, causing the admiral to stumble backwards. With a few more flows of fire, Zhao screamed as he was once again knocked off of his feet.

Looking up to the sky above them, his eyes widened at the sight of the moon back in the sky. Feeling as if he had been cheated he shouted, "It can't be!"

Captain America and the Winter Soldier both looked up to see that the moon was indeed back. Cap then said, "Looks like everything's gonna be alright."

Unbeknown to any of them, the Ocean Spirit moved through the waters of the canal before reaching up to the bridge. All four fighters looked up to see the hands made of water reach over the sides and down to them. Cap, Bucky and Zuko moved out of the way while Zhao was ensnared. Zhao struggled to break from the spirit's grip. Zuko, though having the right to despise Zhao, knew that he wouldn't leave one of his countrymen to die. He ran up to the edge just as the hand was about to pull Zhao under. Reaching for him he shouted, "Take my hand!"

Zhao looked as if he wanted to, but when he thought about being saved by the banished prince, he pulled his hand back. The Ocean Spirit dragged Zhao under the water, drowning him to end his evil. Zuko, Steve and Bucky all looked down to the water where Zhao was as the last of the light faded. But before anything else could be done, a blue light came from underneath Bucky. Both Steve and Prince Zuko looked and gasped as a portal appeared underneath his feet. Bucky cried out as he fell through while both Zuko and Steve rushed forward and cried out, "Bucky!"

But before they could try and grab his hand, Bucky disappeared through the portal and it closed on the spot. Steve fell to his knees as he looked to the spot, tears starting to well up in his eyes. With an angry yell, he pounded the ground in anger of not being able to help his friend again. Prince Zuko, not knowing of the captain's feelings, quietly backed away.

\\_|_/

Iroh carefully made his way from the oasis, after have being let go by the Avatar's friends. He ran down a street as he searched for his nephew. As he came to an intersection, he bumped into someone. Both of them landed on their backsides with a thud. They looked up and a joyous face came upon Iroh as he said, "Zuko!"

"Uncle." Zuko said before Iroh rushed up to him and embraced him which Zuko gladly returned. Zuko and Iroh released each other as a look of sadness came up on the prince's face. Iroh noticed this and asked, "What is wrong, my nephew?"

"He's gone." Zuko said, feeling ashamed about his friend, "Bucky's gone. Taken by a portal. He could be anywhere."

"Oh." Iroh said as he hung his head, sad for the loss of their friend and not being able to comfort his nephew at the moment. The sounds of rushing feet caused them to look up and keep moving.

\\_|_/

At the Hydra base of operations, the Bucky, the Winter Soldier, yelled as he dropped down onto the floor. When he stood up he noticed that he was surrounded by a group of individuals. His eyes widened when Johann Schmidt stepped forward. The leader of Hydra didn't say anything as he signaled for a few others. Bucky grunted as he was struck in the back of the head and fell to the ground. He heard the Red Skull order, "Restrain him."

The next thing he knew was that he could feel someone grabbing his real arm. When he was on his feet, he looked Johann Schmidt in the eyes as the Red Skull then ordered, "Put him in deep freeze."

Bucky's eyes widened and he started to struggle to get out of their grip, but whoever had him was a bit too strong. He yelled as he continued to struggle while being led through some doors.

When they were gone, Johann Schmidt then said, "Prepare to head to the Fire Nation capital. We must have an audience with the Fire Lord."

The individuals nodded before heading out.

\\_|_/

The next morning, Master Pakku, Katara, Chief Arnook, Natasha and Sokka stood outside the palace and overlooked the damage from the last two days. Without looking back, Master Pakku said to Katara, "I've decided to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me." Turning to his best pupil he said, "It's time we helped to rebuild our sister tribe."

"What about Aang?" Katara asked as she looked over to the Airbender. He stood with two of the three Avengers and Momo as they too looked to the horizon. Then she pointed out, "He still needs to learn waterbending."

"Well," Master Pakku said as he turned back to her, "then he had better get used to calling you _Master_ Katara."

Katara smiled in appreciation to this before turning her gaze back to Aang.

Chief Arnook and Sokka looked up to the moon as it started to set. The chief of the Northern Tribe told Sokka, "The spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born." He looked and sounded sad as he said, "I saw a beautiful, brave, young woman become the moon spirit." He took a deep breath before saying, "I knew that this day would come."

"The spirits knew that she would have a large role to play." Natasha said, making sure not to disrespect her. Sokka then looked to the chief and said, "You must be proud."

"So proud…" Chief Arnook admitted, "and sad."

"But don't worry." Natasha told him. They looked to her as she repeated, "She'll always be with you."

Both Sokka and Chief Arnook smiled in appreciation to her. Placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder, she led him over to Aang.

Thor, Steve, Aang and Momo stood side by side as they went over what happened. Aang then recounted, "So, Bucky's been taken again?"

"Yeah." Steve said as he looked down. Aang then held his staff tight as he then said, "Then we'll be sure to look for him too." He glanced over to them and said, "As well as the other Avengers."

Both Steve and Thor nodded to this.

\\_|_/

Out on the sea, a small raft made from parts of destroyed parts sailed by the wreckage of the destroyed fleet. As he managed the sail, Iroh then said, "I'm surprised, Prince Zuko…" He glanced back as his nephew gazed out to the horizon, "surprised that you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar."

He quirked a brow to see what Zuko's reaction would be. But all Zuko could do was sit down and say was, "I'm tired." Then he looked down to the water and admitted, "Plus, I don't know if I can do it without Bucky."

"We may see him yet again, Prince Zuko." Iroh reassured as he walked over to the exhausted teen. Then like any father would, he gently said, "But for now, you should rest." A smile came on his uncle's face as he said, "A man needs is rest."

Iroh backed up while Zuko laid on his back. He gazed up into the sky and began to think about the future. Then he decided to let sleep overtake him.

\\_|_/

Aang, Steve and Thor all stood at the edge of the platform, gazing out to the horizon. Katara stood behind them and Aang turned to her. The two friends embraced each other while the two Avengers looked to them. A chirping Momo caused them to look down to see him giving them a wanting-to-join look. Katara smiled as she said, "You too, Momo."

The lemur jumped onto Aang's outstretched arm as he said, "Come here."

The lemur ran to Aang's other shoulder while Sokka placed a hand on Aang's free one. Natasha leaned against Sokka while both Steve and Thor stood behind the group. They all looked out to the horizon as Appa floated up next to the platform, knowing that whatever came their way in the future, they would face it together.

\\_|_/

Back in the Fire Nation, a summons had been made for the Fire Lord's chamber. Kneeling before the ruler of the Fire Nation was a young woman in royal Fire Nation armor. The Fire Lord then addressed them, "Iroh is a traitor. And your brother, Zuko, is a failure."

She looked up to him as the Fire Lord told his daughter, "I have a task for you."

"And we have a gift to bestow upon you." Johann Schmidt's voice said from behind. Both the Fire Lord and the princess looked back to see the Red Skull walking into the room. Behind him were the Abomination, the Scarlet Widow, the Destroyer Armor, Rumlow, Justin Hammer in his suit and Arnim Zola. Johann Schmidt then advised, "They will be great assets to you, princess."

The Fire Nation princess only had a grin on her face as she felt that she was more than capable of completing her father's mission.

\\_|_/

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

\\_|_/

 **Author's Note:** Man, this is my longest chapter for this story. Not to mention that I've only scratched the surface of this story. But Book One is almost complete. Just one more piece and I will be ready to move on to Book Two. And I do apologize about what happened to Bucky and again I apologize to tell you that he won't be in Book Two, only in reference or flashbacks. Keep on voting on who think you might be seeing next. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


	21. Ending Titles

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

 **A/N:** This is just a little something to tell of the journey and who voiced the characters. It will go by episode up until the main characters.

\\_|_/

 **Avenging Avatar Book One: Water – Ending Credits**

(Cue **Avatar the Last Airbender** Ending Theme)

The sun rose over the bending world as a bright light shot up into the air. The beacon of the Avatar's return let all who could see it have hope again. Standing outside her hut, a grandmother smiles as she looks up into the sky as a flying bison flew overhead.

 **Gran-Gran voiced by Melendy Britt**

In a temple on top of a tall mountain range miles north of the South Pole, the spirit of a monk stood at the gate. He looked up to see the flying bison pass over head.

 **Monk Gyatso voiced by Sab Shimono**

On an island further out into the ocean, a statue of a previous Avatar stood on a pedestal. A warrior dressed just like her was practicing her forms with a few younger girls watching. They all looked up to see the flying bison fly overhead.

 **Koko voiced by Jillian Henry**

 **Suki voiced by Jennie Kwan**

Riding down a chute, the crazed king of Omashu let out a loud laugh as he was enjoying himself. But pouted when his ride came to a stop, and then a smile came back to him when he looked up to see the flying bison. But when he looked out to the horizon again, he could see a column of smoke approaching.

 **King Bumi voiced by Kevin NG**

On a few stolen Fire Nation ships, the former prisoners of the rig stood together on their way back home. The sound of a growl made them look up to see the flying bison pass overhead. A smile came to a boy and his father's face as they waved to it. On the rig itself, a man in Fire Nation armor pulled himself from the ocean before falling face first against the metal in exhaustion.

 **Haru voiced by Michael Dow**

 **Tyro voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson**

 **Haru's Mother voiced by Pat Musick**

 **Fire Nation Warden voiced by George Takei**

Standing the ruins of a burnt section of the forest, the villagers were working hard to help with the restoration of the forest. The spirit of the forest appeared next to them just as a shadow passed over them. They looked to see the flying bison passing over them.

 **Old Wanderer voiced by James Shigeta**

 **Village Leader voiced by Mike Hagiwara**

 **Earthbending Captain voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo**

On an island far to the west within the Fire Nation, a temple stood near the base of a volcano. Inside, Fire Sages walked about while one of their own sneaks away. When he arrived before the doors to the statue inside, he was amazed when they opened to reveal the predecessor to the current Avatar. They both looked out the window to see the flying bison and his passengers fly by.

 **Avatar Roku voiced by James Garrett**

 **Shyu voiced by Michael Yama**

 **Great Sage voiced by Clement Von Frankenstein**

On a port in the Earth Kingdom, a cabbage merchant pushed his cart until a group of pirates came up and quickly took everything. The merchant was wide eyed to see that everything was taken before falling onto his knees and crying out in frustration. The captain stood on the deck of his ship when he noticed the flying bison flying by.

 **Pirate Captain voiced by Jack Angel**

 **Pirate Barker voiced by Bryon McKittrick**

 **Cabbage Merchant voiced by James Sie**

In a forest deep within the Earth Kingdom, a group of rebellious teenagers were taking supply. The leader and a few others looked up to see the flying bison passing over the trees. The leader looked down as he thought about his actions.

 **Jet voiced by Crawford Wilson**

 **Smellerbee voiced by Nika Futterman**

 **The Duke voiced by Mitch Hollerman**

 **Pipsqueak voiced by Sterling Young**

Walking away from the canyon, the leaders of the Zhang and Gan Jin tribes were trying to think of a way to combine their names. But each suggestion caused a small argument. It wasn't until both the Gan Jin Scout and the Canyon guide pointed up into the sky. They all looked up to see the flying bison passing overhead.

 **Zhang Leader voiced by Roberta Farkas**

 **Gan Jin Leader voiced by Rene Auberjonois**

 **Gan Jin Scout voiced by Scout Menville**

 **Canyon Guide voiced by Leonard Stone**

In another port within the Earth Kingdom, a fisherman and his wife stood on the docks as they watched their new ship come in. The sound of growling made them look up to see the flying bison passing over them. They both had smiles as they waved to it and its passengers.

 **Fisherman voiced by Robert Pine**

 **Fisherman's Wife voiced by Susan Silo**

 **Senior Monk voiced by Clyde Kusatsu**

 **Dour Monk voiced by James Hong**

On a mountain not too far from a ruined city, an herbalist was gathering a few supplies from her garden when a large shadow passed over her roof. Running to the door she was able to glimpse the flying bison as it started to fly to the distance.

 **Herbalist voiced by Jodi Carlisle**

 **Colonel Shinu voiced by Nick Jameson**

In a village that had survived the eruption of a volcano, a woman, a calm man and a young lady all stood outside of a fortune teller's place. They looked up just as the flying bison passed over and climbed higher around the volcano.

 **Aunt Wu voiced by Tsai Chin**

 **Meng voiced by Jessie Flower**

 **Calm Man voiced by Clyde Kusatsu**

In an abbey that was full of sisters, they looked to see a young man from the Southern Water Tribe walk in. In a tavern miles away, a young woman was leaning against her pet Shirshu. Both places could see the flying bison as it passed over them.

 **Bato voiced by Richard McGonagle**

 **Hakoda voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo**

 **June voiced by Jennifer Hale**

 **Mother Superior voiced by Amy Hill**

Walking along a river to get away from an abandoned campsite, a man in resistant like clothing was followed by another dressed in similar garb and a few others who were people of the woods. They looked up at the sound of a growl made them defensive, but their leader calmed them when he recognized the flying bison.

 **Jeong Jeong voiced by Keone Young**

 **Chey voiced by John Kassir**

At the Northern Air Temple, a man and his son stood on the edge of a platform staring at the skies. Down below, a Fire Nation man looked up to the temple with a scowl on his face. But they all looked up when they could see the flying bison passing by.

 **Mechanist voiced by Rene Auberjonois**

 **Teo voiced by Daniel Samonas**

 **Fire Nation Emissary voiced by Kristoffer Tabori**

At the top of the world at the Northern Water Tribe, the chief of the Northern Tribe and his daughter both looked up to see the flying bison coming in for a landing. An older looking man joined them with a scowl on his face. As the group touched the ground and walked up to the bison, they noticed the older man's scowl before it turned into a smile.

 **Chief Arnook voiced by Jon Polito**

 **Princess Yue voiced by Johanna Braddy**

 **Master Pakku voiced by Victor Brandt**

 **Yagoda voiced by Lucille Bliss**

 **Captain Li voiced by Keone Young**

But smiles turned into frowns when they looked back to see a large invasion force from the Fire Nation coming at them. All the fighters prepared themselves for battle. The Airbender twirled his staff, the Waterbender pulled out her respective element from a water skin, her elder brother readied a boomerang and a club, the super soldier pulled his helmet on and removed his shield from his back, the spy readied her pistols and the Asgardian raised his hammer into the air to summon a lightning bolt.

 **Fire Lord Ozai voiced by Mark Hamill**

 **Commander/Admiral Zhao voiced by Jason Isaacs**

 **Johann Schmidt/Red Skull voiced by Hugo Weaving**

 **Arnim Zola voiced by Toby Jones**

 **Koh voiced by Erik Todd Dellums**

 **Hahn voiced by Ben Diskin**

The Winter Soldier struggled as he was placed in a cryo-chamber. He continued to fight even though the door slid shut and it activated. He slowly stopped moving before becoming totally frozen. On a raft passing over countless miles of ocean, Prince Zuko and Iroh waited to see where it would take them.

 **Prince Zuko voiced by Dante Basco**

 **General Iroh voiced by Mako**

 **Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier voiced by Sebastian Stan**

An old man with a small moustache and orange tinted glasses stood on the wall of the North Pole. On his left and right came others who looked just like him, for they were him. All of them looked to the readers and said together, "Keep on reading, True Believers. Excelsior!"

 **Various Cameo Appearances By Stan Lee**

Standing on the Earth Kingdom shore was a man dressed in simple Earth Kingdom garb. But closing his eyes, he was able to change his attire into that of what appeared to be more Asgardian. He too looked to the readers and gently said, "Surprise."

 **Loki/Nikol voiced by Tom Hiddleston**

The group themselves were preparing to return to the Earth Kingdom for their next part of the journey. Aang stood in front of Appa while Sokka and Katara came up on both sides of them. Steve and Thor jumped up and clung to Appa's horns while Natasha stood on the bison's head. Momo came flying in and landed on Aang's shoulders before moving to stand tall behind his head. Team Avenging Avatar was ready for whatever came next.

 **Avatar Aang voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen**

 **Katara voiced by Mae Whitman**

 **Sokka voiced by Jack Desena**

 **Steve Rogers/Captain America voiced by Chris Evans**

 **Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow voiced by Scarlett Johansen**

 **Thor voiced by Chris Hemsworth**

 **Appa and Momo voiced by Dee Bradly Baker**

They each had smiles while Appa grunted and Momo chittered as they looked the reader in the eye.

\\_|_/

 **This story's dedication to:**

 **Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018**

\\_|_/

 **Author's Note:** And with this little piece, Book One is complete. Book Two is on the way and I hope that it doesn't take me too long to get it done. I want to get to the rest of the story as soon as possible. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.


End file.
